Hamberger is a freelance private eye without a license and without a car, who hangs out at delis looking for potential work. He is approached by a businessman claiming to be Alex Burtonm who offers him $100,000 to kill his wife Sharon who knows too much about his business dealings. Hamberger accepts a down payment of $25,000 but instead decides to inform Sharon of the plot and helps her flee by plane. Nevertheless Mrs. Burton is soon found shot dead in the house with Hamberger's fingerprints all around the crime scene.