Detective Harry Dobbs in hired by Miss Dolan to follow her boyfriend Rick, a dangerous mob type. All she gives Dobbs to go on is a description, and he begins following the wrong man — King, who turns out to be married and living in a suburban neighborhood. He tells Miss Dolan, but she tells him to keep on following. When King flies west to a small town, then drives to a ranch, Dobbs discovers Kings now calling himself McGraw and has another wife and kid out there.

While all of this has been going on, Dobbs himself is being followed by Stella, who was hired by Dobbs’ jealous girlfriend Doris. When Dobbs’ car breaks down, Stella gives him a ride. When Doris finds out about this, she fires Stella. Meanwhile, Dobbs discovers that McGraw’s wife Ellen is having an affair with Art, one of the ranch hands.

Miss Dolan disappears. Stella, who has fallen for Dobbs joins him in looking for her. McGraw finds out about Art, and the two men fight in a bar. Stella goes to the ranch and gets Ellen and her daughter and drives her to the airport so she can stay with her mother. Dobbs finds Miss Dolan with the real Rick and gets beaten up by Rick’s henchman. He goes to Rick’s house and beats up the henchman. He bursts in on Rick just before he shoots Miss Dolan and knocks Rick out a window. They leave him hanging on the ledge as Dobbs puts Miss Dolan on a train. He goes to Stella’s house and finds her fighting off her old boyfriend. Dobbs and Stella end up together. McGraw goes back to being King and returns to his first wife.

It could have been really clever, but somewhere about two-thirds of the way in, it just got dull and it ended with a thunk. For a while, it was a pretty interesting study of love and how everybody wants it and most everybody is looking in the wrong place to find it. It had a weird film-noir feel, but couldn’t decide on a time period.