Palm City is haunted by a sadomasochistic serial killer in a bondage suit, preying on stage actresses who moonlight as BDSM prostitutes. The killer moves with methodical precision, leaving a chilling trail across the city and earning the nickname Zipperface in police reports and street chatter.
Detectives Lisa Ryder and Harry Shine are assigned to the case, under intense pressure to bring the culprit to justice quickly. The investigation unfolds under the watchful eye of Mayor Angela Harris, who makes it clear that public safety and political credibility are on the line.
As clues accumulate, a rotating cast of suspects emerges: a misogynist fellow officer named Willy Scalia, a cross-dressing mayoral aide named Devon McClain, a charitable preacher named Reverend Dimsdale, and a professional photographer named Michael Walker. Each figure carries potential motives and access to the victims.
Within this web of possibilities, the relationship between the detectives and the photographer deepens, creating personal stakes as the investigation intensifies and the emphasis shifts toward one suspect's possible connection to the killings.
Mounting circumstantial evidence points toward the photographer, leading to his suspension and a warrant for arrest. The team tracks a lead that links Reverend Dimsdale to the case, suggesting he may have played a role in organizing the violence by exploiting the vulnerable workers he claimed to help.
They question one of Dimsdale's prostitutes, who recounts a late-night call in which he begged her not to keep an appointment with a new client, hinting at a secret network behind the disappearances.
Following the clues to an abandoned warehouse, they discover Zipperface's sex dungeon. In the confrontation, the killer wounds the photographer and attempts to strangle the detective; the photographer regains his footing, saves her, and stabs the killer with his machete. Shine arrives with backup and Mayor Harris.
The killer is unmasked as Brewster Harris, the mayor's husband, who admits that emasculation and a need to dominate drove him to target the sex workers.
Overwhelmed, Mayor Harris realizes her political career is finished and shoots Brewster Harris, bringing an end to the deadly spree.
