Numbed after witnessing a colleague's murder, security guard Trixie Zurbo accepts a laidback job at a lakefront casino, working undercover to nab pickpockets. Here, Trixie meets a colorful assortment of regulars, including Ruby, a glamorous young barfly and Dex, a raffish ladies' man. Later, in a chance meeting at the local diner, Dex invites Trixie onto a yacht belonging to his boss, Red Rafferty, a corrupt developer. Red unexpectedly shows up with his own guests, including Dawn, a strung-out, never-was lounge singer and the high-powered State Senator, Drummond Avery. After Trixie rejects Red's advances, he orders her off the boat. She returns home to find Dex who's quit working for Red and makes his feelings for her passionately clear. They begin making love, but are interrupted by Red's brutal henchmen who demand to know the whereabouts of Dawn and "the tape." Dex doesn't talk. Later, from his hospital bed, Dex urges Trixie to find Dawn and she promptly embarks on her first real "case."