Raymond Chandler's private eye, Philip Marlowe is involved in a case of deception, double-cross and murder. Moose Malloy is a giant ex-con, fresh out of prison, who wants Marlowe to find his missing sweetheart, Velma. Marlowe winds up lying unconscious on the floor with a dead man next to him. He asks Grayle, a seedy collector, for some answers and runs into the seductive Mrs Grayle who sends him to a former gangster. The visit almost costs Marlow his life. He senses a connection between Mrs Grayle and the mysterious Velma and comes to the conclusion they are one and the same person - and that person needs him dead.