in a quiet neighborhood outside of chicago, illinois a middle-class family has begun to spend money as if they were rich. the wife, a stay-at-home mother of two, traded her ford station wagon for a bmw suv. she purchased three platinum and diamond rings for her right hand and a huge emerald and diamond ring for her engagement finger. furthermore, as the weather has gotten colder, a fur has replaced her wool coat. the father, a manager at the local bank of america branch, recently bought a snowmobile and a mint condition 1957 corvette. at school, the kids have been bragging to their friends about skiing in switzerland. witnesses to this suspicious activity include the next-door neighbor and the mother of the children's best friend.