An alien, who has crash-landed on earth on a mission to destroy humanity, assumes the identity of Dr. Harry Vanderspeigel so he can remain undetected by the residents of Patience, CO as he searches the snow-covered Colorado mountains for pieces of his ship. He learns "to be human" by watching Law and Order and mimicking the late, great Jerry Orbach. One day the sheriff of Patience, Mike "Big Black" Thompson, and his deputy, Liv Baker, show up at his isolated cabin.