Adrian Monk has suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder and a variety of phobias since the murder of his wife, Trudy, in 1997. Despite his photographic memory and his amazing ability to piece tiny clues together, he is now on psychiatric leave from the San Francisco Police Department. Aided by his friend and practical nurse, Sharona, Monk works as a freelance detective, hoping to convince his former boss,, to allow him to return to the force.