It is New Year's Eve, 1952, in Los Angeles. Private investigator Aloysius Archer is dining with his friend and rising Hollywood star Liberty Callahan when they're approached by Eleanor Lamb, a famous screenwriter, who would like to hire him as she suspects someone is trying to kill her. A visit to Lamb's Malibu residence leaves Archer in no doubt of foul play when he's knocked unconscious entering the property, there's a dead body in the hallway,...