When a cryptic note is passed to young Bert Hale by a stranger, he and his three friends inadvertently hold the key to unravelling the sinister plot to assassinate a Russian premier visiting Los Angeles.
When his young son is killed in a hit and run accident, Charles Thenier resolves to hunt down and murder the killer. By chance, Thenier makes the acquaintance of an actress, Helène Lanson, who was in the car at the time of the accident. He then meets Helène’s brother-in-law, Paul Decourt, a truly horrible individual.
