Los Angeles, 1950. Red crosscurrents: the Commie Scare and a string of brutal mutilation killings. Gangland intrigue and Hollywood sleeze. Three cops caught in a hellish web of ambition, perversion and deceit.

Danny Upshaw is a sheriff's deputy stuck with a bunch of snuffs that nobody cares about; they're his chance to make his name as a cop...and to sate his darkest curiosities. Mal Considine is DA's bureau brass. He's climbing on the Red scare bandwagon to advance his career and to gain custody of his adopted son, a child he saved from the horror of postwar Europe. Buzz Meeks--bagman, ex-goon and pimp for Howard Hughes--is fighting communism for the money.

All three have purchased tickets to a nightmare.