Jeff Goldblum is Lionel Whitney, an accountant fascinated by the noir detective novels of fictional PI Mark Savage. During the events leading up to his wedding, Lionel crosses paths with E.L. "Tenspeed" Turner (Ben Vereen), a smooth-talking fast-thinking con artist. When Tenspeed needs a job to make parole, Lionel fulfills his life's ambition, start a detective agency, and hires Tenspeed as his partner. Now the two men take on whatever cases come their way.