A dispirited cop chucks his job on the force and, with the help of a college co-ed, sets out to solve the murder of a police colleague who had been his best friend.

An adaptation of Thomas Wolfe's literary classic, telling of the struggles of a young writer determined to be a success in New York's literary world of the 1920s, his married lover, and the brilliant editor who sees him as a blossoming genius. The story parallels the life of Wolfe himself and his affair with stage designer Aline Bernstein.

Hard-boiled private detective Hamilton Nash investigates a supposed family curse linked to stolen diamonds, which unravels into a complex mystery involving murder, drugs, and a cult.