As corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen – one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy – investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.L.A.
In early 1950s Los Angeles, LAPD Sergeant Edmund “Ed” Exley is determined to live up to the reputation of his father, famed detective Preston Exley, who was killed by an unknown assailant whom Exley secretly nicknamed “Rollo Tomasi”. Already isolated from other officers by his intelligence and career ambitions, he volunteers to testify against them in the “Bloody Christmas” case in exchange for promotion to Detective Lieutenant, against the advice of precinct captain Dudley Smith, who reminds Exley that he doesn’t have what it takes to shoot a hardened criminal in the back, if that’s what it would take to prevent him from going free.
Plainclothes Officer Wendell “Bud” White, whom Exley considers a “mindless thug”, is obsessed with viciously reprimanding woman-beaters. White hates Exley due to his partner, Dick Stensland, being fired thanks to Exley’s testimony. With crime boss Mickey Cohen imprisoned for tax evasion while his underlings are being mysteriously killed, Cpt. Smith recruits White to torture and frighten away out-of-town criminals trying to gain a foothold in Los Angeles. While at a liquor store, White also encounters Lynn Bracken, a sex worker resembling Veronica Lake, and former cop Leland “Buzz” Meeks. Both work for Pierce Patchett, whose Fleur-de-Lis service runs high-end prostitutes altered by plastic surgery to resemble film stars.
Sergeant Jack Vincennes is a narcotics detective who moonlights as a technical advisor on Badge of Honor, a TV police drama series. Sid Hudgens, publisher of the Hush-Hush tabloid magazine, tips Vincennes on celebrity criminal activity so that he can make high-profile arrests for Sid’s publication.
Exley soon investigates a robbery and multiple homicide at the Nite Owl coffee shop. Stensland was one of the victims. Exley and Vincennes arrest three African-American felons for the crime; they later escape from police custody and are killed by Exley in a shootout. Exley is decorated for bravery.