Hollywood, 1939.

When film director Orland Orcott is found dead in his locked study, police rule it a suicide. However, movie star Victor Marvel believes otherwise and sets out to investigate, aided by his handsome boyfriend, Griffin, and Eve Spellman, Victor’s smart, young costar.

Suspects include Orland’s son, Tab, an aspiring actor who was blacklisted after his father found out that he’s gay, and Sheila, a former mistress of Orland’s, tossed aside when he took up with a new starlet. Added to the list are William Taylor, a has-been that Orland delighted in humiliating, and William’s daughter Lydia, who may have slept with Orland to get her father a movie role. Agatha Mudd, a gossip columnist with a secret past is also a suspect, and Orland’s long-suffering wife, Marjorie.

Was it suicide or murder? The trio is on the case to find the truth, but suspects and grudges abound. With so many motives for murder, finding the killer won’t be easy. But no one else cares as long as Orland Orcott is dead.