Hollywood. 1955. Faced with two inexperienced actors, a film director encourages the leading lady and leading man to fall in love in real life so as to provide the heat needed for the inner film's romance, which enrages the actress' possessive gangster boyfriend, who happens to be the film's financier.

Jacob Asch is hired by Gerald McMurty to find his ex-wife Laine and their son in Palm Springs. Jacob finds Laine and a teenager named Donnie who may or may not be Gerald's son. He also finds an intricate web of deceit and betrayal that begin to lead to death. He takes it upon himself to unravel the mystery and find out who is killing people and why.

A young woman who is getting back on her feet after a mental breakdown, Carol Rivers discovers that her late uncle has left her a rundown nightclub. Carol decides to renovate the venue, but, in the process, uncovers dark secrets about the club and her dead relative. After a series of disturbing events, Carol becomes increasingly unstable, but she finds some measure of comfort in Sharpe, an enigmatic older detective.