An impulsive cop in world of trouble.

Los Angeles, 2020.

Not in the way we think of it though, but in the way it was figured out to be in the 80s. Police officers and rich have flying cars. Postmodernism rules rampant. “Normal” drugs are legalized and used. The gap between the rich and the poor has become a chasm. Subcultures thrive in their own pockets of the city, sometimes surpassing social classes but more often bringing together people of similar conditions in the bizarre world. The city has a thousand stories to tell every day and they are filled with frail humanity searching desperately for a meaning.

The hunt for replicants has replaced the drug wars of the past. Nobody really knows how common they are, but if one is found, he is to be seized and dismantled. Technology is advanced, but true artificial intelligence is so rare that it hasn't broken down the structures of the society.

The crime fighting has been assigned to private detectives who operate under the control and supervision of the lieutenants and captains of the police force. They are to do their work alone and unhindered as long as internal investigation is not alerted of their activities. This leads to a situation where these private detectives often work in both sides of the law, dancing on an ever-dangling tightrope between the world of criminals, large corporations, policework and the dilemmas of their own lives.

Almost everyone knew Merrill “The Genius” McPherson. He sprang into stardom by being the first man who completed “Know-it-all”, a very popular tv-quiz and won ten million dollars in the process. From thereon he continued to excel in other quizes as well, until finally ended up hosting his own talk-show.

His descend was as quick as his rise. He tried to steal money from the tv-company he was working for and was caught. If it wasn't for Bergen Stubb, an executive of the company McPherson worked for he would have been sentenced and gone to prison. McPherson and Stubb had both helped each other during their careers, and Stubb extended his favor again to McPherson and helped him out of the trouble. Even thogh McPherson escaped charges he had to leave the spotlight. People forgot him quickly. They usually do.

McPherson, always the impulsive, decided that he should become a top-level police detective. Using his extensive contact network and keen wits he managed to hide the problems of his past and got into the police force.

Part of this rush to excel in some career is perhaps due to his new girlfriend Stacy. She is a rich fashion designer who gathered her fortune almost overnight by her lavish designs. McPherson feels inferior and wants to do well so that he could be an equal partner for his lover.

He finds out quickly, that the road to stardom doesn't open by solving crimes. That road will last to decades of hard work rather than quick schemes he is after. So he has struck a deal with CEO of a large corporation. CEO's son has involved himself with some strange extreme sports and has told his dad he will not continue in his father's footsteps in the company.

McPherson hatches a crazy plan. He decides to fake a kidnap the son and then intimidate him somehow to follow his dad's interests. He doesn't really know how to pull it off but common to his nature that doesn't stop him from hiring out some private operatives to do the job.

To make matters more complicated, Stacy tells him that she is pregnant and arrangements for their wedding are underway. Naturally McPherson hasn't told her of his scemes. No need to bother her with the details of his steps towards greatness.