It's 1939 in Los Angeles when Clare Cavendish (Diane Kruger) strolls into Marlowe's (Neeson) office and hires him to find Nico Peterson (Francois Arnaud). Simple enough, only there's a catch (of course): Nico has been declared dead and the body identified by a relative. Adding to the intrigue (of course) is Clare (she prefers to be called Cavendish) herself, the daughter of powerful former film star Dorothy Cavendish (played by two-time Oscar winner Jessica Lange, TOOTSIE, BLUE SKY).