When a private detective is framed for murder, he finds himself
entangled in a conspiracy involving corrupt officials, gun trafficking
and a mysterious key that everyone is after.

SYNOPSIS:

In a dusty office, private detective Ray Cook is hired by the alluring Allison Darrow to find her missing husband, Reese. Ray is initially hesitant due to her connection to a case which ended his career as a cop years ago, but ends up accepting.

Ray’s search quickly finds him tailing Zev, a lowlife criminal. They end up on the docks where Reese appears and confronts Zev about a curious key he’s carrying. They’re interrupted by mysterious figure who emerges from the fog and shoots Reese, killing him. Zev flees and though unharmed, Ray comes out looking like the prime suspect to the police.

Ray meets with a distraught Allison who then implores him to find Reese’s killer. She tells him that Zev used to work for Reese, but they had a falling out over connections to now jailed crime lord Charlie O’Bannon.

Using info from an informant, Ray is able to track down Zev, but they are ambushed in a drive by shooting. Zev runs off, accidentally dropping the key behind. Ray takes it to paroled thief, Gilly Garb, who expresses admiration for the unique design and suggests it likely opens a safe.

Sgt. McKinney strong-arms Ray into questioning O'Bannon who had refused to speak to anyone but Ray. O’Bannon denies involvement and suggests Ray speak to Reese’s mistress, Evelyn Whitnall who last worked at City Hall.

To gain access to City Hall, Ray meets with former partner and recently fired reporter Verona Shaw. Reluctantly, Verona agrees and gets her brother, City Manager Bobby Miles to admit he too was involved with Evelyn. Bobby hands over her address, but when Ray and Verona show up, they find the woman dead.

Ray resigns from working for Allison and tails Zev to a speakeasy. Zev tells Ray that Officer Sands got him out of prison with orders to find a specific key. Before he can find out more, they are both invited to singer Roxy Moon’s dressing room where they are attacked by Sands and his partner Nichols. Using Ray’s gun, they kill Zev and threaten Roxy to get Ray to confess where he hid the key.

Ray returns home to find Allison waiting for him. She tells him that Reese was planning to blackmail one of his clients. She tries to seduce Ray, but they’re interrupted by Verona who notifies him that the dead girl wasn’t Evelyn, but rather the real Allison Darrow. Ray rushes back inside, but the woman is gone.

Gilly meets Ray and informs him that he made a duplicate of the key and that he still has the original. They rush down to the docks and break into the warehouse, but key doesn’t unlock a safe as they thought it would. Gilly then realizes the key is for a computer just as Ray gets a call from Nichols to meet him at a remote farmhouse.

Ray arrives to find Evelyn held captive and realizes he’s walked into an ambush. An intense gunfight ensues, in which Ray and Gilly end up killing the corrupt cops. They then find a missing laptop and use the key to turn it on. They see a video proving Bobby Miles is behind Reese’s murder. Miles then emerges with a gun raised, but Evelyn sneaks in behind, killing him and wounding Gilly. Ray disarms her just as Verona and the police arrive.

Returning to his office several days later, Ray finds it now staffed by Verona and Gilly and is soon greeted by a new client looking for help. Ray smiles and takes the case.