House Rules tells the story of Jacob, a young boy with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. As his mother, Emma, struggles to control his verbal outbursts, Jacob tries desperately to be like everyone else, but truly doesn't know how.

Blisteringly intelligent, Jacob becomes obsessed with crime scene investigation methods, and before long is increasingly the first one to arrive at actual crime scenes - irritating police by trying to help with their cases. Then one of his tutors dies - and Jacob is first to be interviewed.