On January 4, 1969, a gang of punks broke into a liquor store in San Diego; Officer Harry Orwell and his partner arrived to stop them, but Harry was shot and his partner killed. Forced to retire from the department, Orwell now ekes out a modest living on his police pension and as a private investigator--$100 a day plus expenses plus mileage. In such capacity he was hired several years later by one of the young punks who shot him, and he successfully arrested the entire gang before moving from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Now his services are available to anyone who asks, although he often proves a bane to by-the-book Lieutenant K.C. Trench of the LAPD.
—Michael Daly