Abe works for the San Francisco police department. He is a hawk-faced man with a scar that goes through his lips running from top to bottom that goes white when he is stressed. He has a reputation for being a bit of a hardass. His badge number is 1144 and he has been on the job long enough to have a good nose for the truth. Abe lost his wife, Flo, to ovarian cancer 15 months ago and still feels a tremendous guilt and remorse, struggling to just go home. He has three sons: Eleven-year old Orel (O.J.) who is beginning high school in September; Isaac (Ike) who is older, resentful and angry, and stays in a room that is little bigger than a breadbox; and Jacob. All three boys are looked after by a live-in housekeeper named Rita who shares the living room space with Abe.