While a man named Moose Malloy (Mike Mazurki) was in prison, he lost track of his girlfriend. After getting out of prison, Malloy decides to hire a a detective named Phillip Marlowe (Dick Powell) to find his girl. During his search for Velma, Marlowe takes on another case protecting a man named Marriott(Douglas Walton). He fails with this case and ends up beaten unconsicous. Needless to say, the plot becomes complicated and involves deceit, theft and perjury.