Joe Darling is a private eye down on his luck in Portland, Oregon in 1947. He is handed what seems like a pedestrian case to find a missing husband, by a wealthy and stunning young woman, heiress to the Sinclair fortune in oil and perfumes. The case unwinds to possible blackmail, conspiracy to take over the perfume company, murder of a rapist, and powerful forces from a small town sheriff's past. Joe falls into every quicksand laced with seduction and longings that would defeat most men. Along the way he discovers a woman with true worth that he slowly falls for, which requires rejecting other femme fatales. With help from an old cop pal and a female journalist, Joe winds his way to a startling conclusion in this mystery that holds up also as a romance. Adult situations.