An all expenses paid weekend in Malibu, a red head, and a white Panama hat are just a few of the ingredients that combine for the next adventure for Philip Marlowe.

Bored senseless, and no work to do, Philip gets a phone call that calls him into a nightclub to meet the tall seductive dame. Her unemployed photographer husband has been getting threatening letters. The young couple live with uncle Avvery who is far from idolizing his nieces husband.

Posing as a friend from her past, Philip starts investigating. One recurring figure through the episode, delivering death threats, and trying to kill Philip, is a man in a Panama hat. The artistic photographer shows off some of his interpretive work to Philip. With all the meetings out of the way, Philip drifts off to sleep, wondering about the man in the Panama hat. He hears a noise, goes to have a look, gets a thump on the head, and when he awakens he finds suspicious behavior from his hosts afoot.

Clues abound, and Philip is off to investigate. Mistaken identity, kidnapping, blackmail, and a tangled chain of events fall into Philip’s lap. Will a ransom be paid? There’s still plenty of loose ends, and unanswered questions. Philip plays all his advantages to find the white Panama hat.

Uncle Avery has had enough, and Philip is paid for a job done when the photographer is returned from his captor, but his curiosity won’t let him rest. When murder arrives on the scene, Philip tells what he knows to the cops, but the plot twists just keep on coming, and won’t stop until Philip blows the lid off all the secrets.

Sound confusing? It is, but listen in, and follow Philip Marlowe through all the twists and turns.