A tight, fast-moving genre piece about cynical LA private eye Lew Harper (Newman) who is hired by Mrs. Sampson (Bacall) to investigate the disappearance of her wealthy husband. Along the way he gets involved with an aging actress (Winter), a junkie singer (Harris), a religious nut (Martin), and a smuggling operation. From the Ross McDonald novel "The Moving Target." Later sequelled in "The Drowning Pool."