When newsman Paul Masters gets a lead in the mysterious murder of socialite Laura Garlie, he starts working on the case with Detective Lieutenant Jake Fisher and his assistant, beautiful black Detective Sergeant Martha Jackson. Paul's 26-year marriage to graphic artist Jody has evolved into a respectful but distant friendship. When he develops serious feelings for Martha, he asks for a divorce. Meanwhile, Jody is attracted to Professor Sean Gardner, who feels inadequate in his marriage. He doesn't know that his wife, Nan, is in love with another man who is not interested in her. That's why she is deeply depressed. Jody and Paul's daughter, Meredith, is inconsolable following the suicide of her bipolar fiance, Charlie Jacobs; ultimately, she decides to enter graduate school and become a psychological social worker to help smilarly afflicted people. When she befriends Nan, it sets off a series of other developments.

The professor shares a cocktail hour--and more--with Jody, and soon they fall in love. Meredith meets a promising yourg architect, and Paul helps Jake and Marty search for Laura's killer. But did the murderer work alone? And where does high-priced call girl Ursula Thyme fit into the picture? It's fascinating to watch the tangling and untangling of the webs these characters spin. The climax comes when Martha's brother Steve introduces his gay white lover to her and she appears to reveal an underlying prejudice. It drives Paul away from her and, weeks later, into a darkened bar at closing time.