Harry Logan is a small-time Hollywood movie producer with a sense of humor, a slightly schizophrenic assistant usually named Lilith, and a still-loving and loved ex-wife, Judy, owner of an art gallery and a sharp, gutsy lady. Among Harry's friends is Al Lopez, a sometimes gruff LAPD detective.

The murder of Goran Petrović, a young Serbian documentary filmmaker whom Harry had worked with, sets Harry on a hunt to find the killer. In his effort to unmask Goran's murderer, Harry must weave his way among some of the deep ethnic hatreds that destroyed Yugoslavia. There is a variety of suspects with differing motives for murder: jealousy, revenge, and greed.

Harry very nearly becomes a victim himself – once early on in the story and then again near the end, along with Al and Judy, in a trap to catch the killer, with a surprise twist.