In this well-paced crime thriller, Larry Stanciani (Franco Nero) is a hard-boiled private investigator in San Francisco, an ex-cop kicked off the police force and thrown in prison for a time because of a frame-up by a Mafioso named Kandinsky. One day, he is called to the office of Goldsmith (William Berger), a narcotics agent out to nail Kandinsky on drug charges. Goldsmith asks Stanciani to go to Genoa, Stanciani's home town, track down Kandinsky, and haul him back to the U.S. for due process. Stanciani's motivation is multiple: Goldsmith offers him his old job back if he succeeds. Soon the private eye is on his way and encountering obstacles that include Brenda (Sybil Danning) a gorgeous disc jockey, and a motley group of underworld denizens.