 Juliet Forrest (Rachel Ward) is convinced that the reported death of her father in a mountain car crash was no accident. Her father was a prominent cheese scientist working on a secret recipe. To prove it was murder, she enlists the services of private eye Rigby Reardon (Steve Martin). He finds a slip of paper containing a list of people who are "The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta." Searching for answers, Rigby encounters assorted low-lives: dangerous men and women who were the hallmarks of the classic detective movies of the 40 s and 50 s. Filming in black and white allows scenes from old movies to be cut into this film. It is through this process that Rigby s assistant is none other than Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) himself.