The Big Fall

Blaise Rybeck is hired by Mrs. Brody to confirm her husband's infidelity, but the meeting ends with him getting beaten. After the assault, he returns the money and tells her to hire a divorce lawyer, making it clear he won't be swayed. He also rejects Mrs. Brody's romantic advances, choosing professional boundaries instead.

The next day at Rybeck Investigations, Gary Snider offers his services. A former DA's office employee who failed a physical due to a heart murmur, he is now trying to break into private investigation work.

Emma Roussell brings Ken's missing person case to Blaise. Ken disappeared three days prior, and the police found plane wreckage the day after, but there is no body yet.

At Hangar 66 on the airport, Axe tortures a bound captive to extract information about what he stole. The brutal scene establishes the Fallen Eagles' willingness to do whatever it takes.

Blaise discovers an unusual patch with an upside-down eagle's head at Kenneth Roussell's flight school. He shows it at Vic's bar, where a customer identifies the symbol as belonging to the Fallen Eagles.

Blaise visits the practice bridge used by the Fallen Eagles and introduces himself as a New Yorker passing through. Moe, a member, invites him to drinks the following evening, hinting at possible connections or trouble ahead.

Blaise asks Emma for documents from the flight school and more on the Fallen Eagles, but federal agents order him to stop his investigation. Agent Bill Dixon is placed in charge, signaling official interference.

Blaise goes out for drinks with Moe and learns Moe is also a sky jumper. He asks for work, and as they leave, a swastika-jacketed man and his friend attack because Moe slept with his sister. Blaise defends himself with a gun and is invited to Hangar 66 the next afternoon.

Back at home, Emma reveals her background—moving to England with inheritance money and coming to work at the flight school after funds ran out, and Ken's disappearance within a week. Emma and Blaise sleep together, but he wakes up alone, leaving his questions about her unresolved.

At Whiteman Airport hangar, Moe and Axe confront Blaise with guns to intimidate him. Moe leads him out, insisting that he did well, signaling the group’s confidence and danger nearby.

Agent Dixon and other agents chase Blaise, beat him, and remind him to stay off the case. Gary calls Blaise to confirm that Ken's body was found and tells Emma. Right after the call, a drive-by shooting erupts, escalating the danger.

Blaise breaks into Axe's office at the hangar and finds photos of Emma with Axe, revealing Emma's entanglement with the paratrooper group. He confronts Emma, demanding the truth.

Emma arrives at the hangar and shoots Axe, admitting she helped her brother double-cross the Fallen Eagles. She tries to lure Blaise to run away with her, but he chooses to stay in Los Angeles as a private investigator, helping Emma escape with the money only to remain behind.