Squeezed out of her criminal investigation unit after committing a grave error, demoted cop Anne Capestan finds herself heading the mysterious “fourth brigade”—home to all the depressed, alcoholic, and other misfits of the police force unwanted anywhere yet unable to be fired. Much to everyone’s surprise, she and her oddball team of lame ducks end up having to solve the biggest case around, an affair involving multiple robberies, a master of disguise, and the unexplained murder of a Maltese poodle.