Justin Giller is suspected of having shot the B-movie actor Terry Gold. Justin's father, Senior District Judge in Santa Ana, wants Jacob Lawdon to find his son before the police do. Lawdon, a PI in San Diego, first doesn't feel like taking over the job. However, he finally agrees to investigate because - as usual - he is short of money. His inquiries lead him to a studio in Santa Ana specialized in the production of commercials. It turns out that Gold's last job was a minor character in one of those commercials. Terry was a womanizer and had an affair with lots of girls working in the showbiz like Justin's girlfriend Cindy or Justin's aunt Janet and last not least Justin's mother. Terry's last girlfriend was Sheila Logan whose brother is a cop from the SAPD homicide squad. He and his colleague Stringer, a bullyboy, know something about Terry's past they could put Terry under pressure with. A couple of people die a natural death - at least according to Logan and Stringer. When Lawdon goes on finding out the truth, everybody tries to prevent him from doing so.Jacob Lawdon is a great admirer of Philipp Marlow. Like him he's a PI and like him he tries to stick to a strict code of ethics, but fails from time to time. Though he sometimes is quite cynical and hardboiled, he's full of sympathy and compassion. He's both tough and sensitive. He tries to act with integrity, but he's witty and good with words. He does everything to find out the truth though he knows that often all attempts are in vain. He prefers tea to hard drinks, but pretends to prefer hard drinks to tea. He's not keen on money, though he's always short of money. And last but not least he tries to be honest with the reader.