It's 1948 and Los Angeles is booming, but Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins has seen better days. A decorated World War II veteran, he's just been fired and he's got house payments to make, so when he's offered a job locating the mysterious Daphne Monet, he doesn't waste much time saying yes. Now, he finds himself drawn into a web of murder, blackmail, brutal cops and city politics.