Gross ambition...an obsession for money...power...leads to murder and betrayal. ย On Saturday, September 27, 1969, two LAPD Homicide detectives, Steve Keller and Joe Rodriguez are called to 1025 Sunset Plaza Drive, the sprawling, Spanish style, Hollywood Hills home of tabloid-publisher, Randall Curtiss. ย Curtissโ wife, Valerie has been found shot to death in the bathroom of the master bedroom. ย Curtiss is discovered in the family den, the victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. ย It becomes apparent that Curtiss was beset with heavy financial difficulties, coupled with the fact that his smarmy scandal sheet, Hollywood Confidential, has been hit with a $50-million libel suit. ย Screen actor, Gregg Chandler was suing Curtiss for defamation of character, invasion of privacy. ย The stage is set for the murder-suicide. ย However, following an intense investigation of the crime scene, which includes a ballistics report, and a phony suicide note, the detectives come to the conclusion that the murder-suicide was a โset-upโ...that in actuality, the Curtisses were both murdered.Because of Curtissโ affiliation with the notorious scandal magazine, a host of possible suspects emerges, including his ex-wife, Barbara; his business partner, Diane Walker; a sleazy paparazzi, Tony DโAmato; a competitor, Marty Schwimmer; a disgruntled and recently-fired employee, David Levine; a Mafia-connected ย hoodlum, Nick DiNapoli. ย
Played against a background, where the Curtiss-Chandler trial is imminent, and surprising testimony from a dying associate of Randall Curtiss surfaces, the detectivesโ investigation leads them into an intricate web of blackmail, deception and murder.