Palmetto

As a reporter, Harry exposes corruption in the local government and refuses a bribe. The corrupt officials plant funds in his account, leading to his arrest. He begins serving a prison sentence for a crime he insists he did not commit.

A veteran police officer provides testimony that clears Harry’s name, and he is released from prison. The long ordeal ends, but the town remains wary of its officials. He leaves the penitentiary with a sense of bitterness toward those who framed him.

Harry comes back to Palmetto with his girlfriend Nina, who has waited for him. He cannot find steady work and spends his days lounging in a local bar. The town feels tense as old wounds and new temptations hover over him.

Rhea Malroux, wife of the town's wealthiest man, offers Harry a job to help her and her daughter Odette steal half a million dollars from her husband through a fake kidnapping. The plan promises Harry a ten percent cut. The temptation of easy money pulls him toward the scheme.

Harry visits the Malroux mansion to verify Rhea’s identity and the legitimacy of the plan. He then meets privately with Rhea to discuss the details and later with Odette to confirm her involvement. The checks establish the foundations for the kidnapping scheme.

After the verification meetings, Harry decides to proceed with the kidnapping plan. He accepts the role and the potential payoff, aware of the risk but enticed by the offer. The scheme moves from talk to realization.

Odette disappears, and the plan requires her to stay out of town long enough for the ransom to be demanded and leaked to the police. A top detective, Harry’s brother-in-law, asks him to help manage the press and steer the investigation. Harry becomes entangled in both the kidnapping plot and the police inquiry.

When Harry returns to his bungalow, he finds Odette dead and realizes he has entered a dangerous situation. He uses a tape recording from his negotiations to blackmail Rhea, drawing her into his leverage. In response, Rhea sends her boyfriend to dispose of Odette's body.

The real Odette later turns up dead in Harry's bungalow, further complicating the case. Police investigators finally piece together the truth behind the staged kidnapping and the deaths. The situation reaches a turning point as the criminals' cover begins to unravel.

Harry cooperates with the police to arrest the masterminds behind the plot and to reveal the true culprit. He exposes that the woman impersonating Rhea is actually the gardener, not the wife herself. The couple remains at large until confronted by law enforcement.

The gardener posing as Rhea and Donnelly kidnap Harry and Nina and take them toward a garage to drown them in a barrel of acid. Harry is wearing a wire, allowing the police to intervene in time. Donnelly falls into the acid, and the impostor is arrested.

Despite helping to bring the real criminals to justice, Harry is arrested for his role in the kidnapping conspiracy. He serves a brief prison sentence and writes a novel based on his experiences, hoping it will be adapted into a film.