Based on an unpublished short story entitled "The Investigation" by Dennis Pahl.
You can see a framed photograph of Emily Dinova's character "X" from The Museum of Lost Things in the background. In that film, Protivnik engages in an affair with X and in the end, he loses "everything." This is why he is now in an apartment and single with a dog that may or may not exist named Henry.
This is Dan Capalbo's third time portraying the character Protivnik.