Herald Childe has just seen a home movie in which his partner was brutally murdered, his life-fluids drained by a lady.

Childe is a private dick. He's accustomed to sticking his nose into other people's business, and it's usually dirty. But he's not prepared for the gut-churning horrors which await him as he wades through the L.A. smog following up a lead in the most disgusting case of his career.