It's the summer of 1944, and the U.S. is at war. Times are tough for Sidney Craven, who has to supplement the sporadic income from his one-man Los Angeles detective agency by writing crime stories for pulp magazines. Then, a wounded war hero—recently home from overseas—hires Craven to locate his missing wife, an actress who disappeared on the very day she was supposed to start a new film. Craven begins his investigation by visiting her Hollywood studio.

Before his snooping gets him run off the lot, a costar gives Craven a tip that eventually leads him to a jazz club in South Central L.A. Unlike with his usual divorce cases, he finds himself entangled in a narrative that includes blackmail and murder. His own life in danger, Craven doggedly tracks down clues and attempts to lure the prime suspect into what could be a fateful confrontation.

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