In Los Angeles, the retired rock star Johnny Boz is stabbed by an ice pick and murdered tied to his bed during an intercourse. Detective Nick Curran and his partner Gus Moran are assigned to the case. They head to the beach house of the psychologist and writer Catherine Tramell , who was Boz’s girlfriend, to interview her. They find a cynical and intelligent woman and soon Nick suspects her of the crime. Det. Curran has recently killed two tourists in a shooting and his wife that committed suicide and is forced to visit the police psychologist Dr. Beth Garner, with whom he has a love affair. He continues his investigation and soon he has a sexual involvement with Tramell. He is sure that she is the killer when other evidences shifts him to another direction.