Private detective Sam Cloud, fresh off of two cases involving radio station GBS on the East Coast, is back in his hometown of San Francisco. He soon has a new client, Mrs. Taylor Owens, the widow of a rich man's chauffeur. Her late husband had recently been found dead in his employer's limo after it was driven off the Lido pier. Mrs. Owens thinks her late husband was working on the side for a private eye in the Los Angeles area. Did this have something to do with his death, or was it an accident, as the police contend? As Sam looks for answers in the city of his childhood, he must confront ruthless killers, suspicious cops, Hollywood glamour girls, and the memories of an abusive, alcoholic policeman father. As he gets closer to finding out the truth, he discovers cover-ups and shakedown schemes. It's been said blackmailers don't shoot, but Sam soon finds out sometimes they do, and often with deadly results.