Joe Mannix is summoned to a scene where an old friend of his, Monte Dawes, has killed one man and is holding a young woman, Cindy Warren, hostage. His friend is killed, and Mannix manages to overhear his dying words, which seem to make no sense - something about a "button" and a "General D." With the help of Cindy Warren, to whom Mannix feels an increasing attraction, he tries to puzzle out why Dawes ended up dying as he did - and why several hoods seem to be interested in him and Miss Warren.
—aldanoli