Five major U. S. oil companies have joined forces to bid on offshore fields offered for lease by the state of California. Five days before the date for submitting bids, four of the companies' head geologists meet "accidental" deaths. Harvey Sheppard, president of Far West Oil, calls in troubleshooter Blake Heller to investigate. Heller destroys a bomb planted at his beach house, and he meets and becomes romantically involved with his new neighbor, young widow Treva Saint. With the help of police lieutenant Dow Reeves and stock market expert Harry Darkwater, Heller learns that stocks from two of the oil companies have recently changed hands: one of the owners is Treva; the other is Peggy Lido, a nightclub singer. Despite attempts on his life and the murder of a geologist from the fifth oil company, Heller continues his assignment and eventually discovers that the person behind the killings is Peggy Lido, revealed to be the ex-wife of the oil company president who sold Treva her stock. Peggy, with the help of her fiancé, Paul Kimmel, is determined to prevent both her ex-husband and Treva, the woman Peggy thinks he loves, from enjoying their new-found wealth. Realizing what has occurred, Heller races to Treva's home in time to save her from being killed by Peggy.
