Hollywood, 1943: Annie Laurence moves from New York to Hollywood to start her new life as a murder mystery screenwriter—only to learn that the controlling studio head thinks women can only write light romances. To get a foot in the door, Annie starts volunteering at the Hollywood Canteen, a club for servicemen run exclusively by industry members. Her second night at the Canteen, however, a particularly vicious critic is murdered. Annie sees a chance to prove her worth as a mystery writer by solving the case, and she chronicles her investigation in an anonymous magazine column—even as other club members, including herself, become targets.