The year is 1950. After graduating from college, Dapper Luoo stands at a crossroads. His parents want him to work in the family business, but he still dreams of becoming a private eye.
Los Angeles is in turmoil. Mobster bosses Mickey Cohen and Jack Dragna are battling each other for control of the city's underworld rackets, and Dapper is drawn into the fray when he's given the unenviable task of finding a Chinese gang leader's missing son.
As Dapper gets closer to the truth, family secrets are laid bare, and he's made privy to an unexpected past, one that sends him headlong into a closely guarded conspiracy that will decide who ultimately rules the City of Angels.