A crusading reporter (John Kennedy Horne) for the weekly L.A. New Times spends his time writing exposes on the conditions permitted by slumlords. However, when his best friend (Sheryl Lee Ralph) is killed by a corrupt business executive (Henry Silva), he is forced to start trying to find the evidence. This leads him into conflict with many surly longshoremen and hit men. Meanwhile, he makes a new acquaintance in a bookstore clerk (Tracey Ross), who also happens to be a computer whiz and aids him in finding the information he needs.