A former con man who now runs a business
providing alibis for philandering clients finds himself in the middle of a
complicated web of murder and lies. Outside a motel room door, a man
sprays breath freshener into his mouth just before his lover lets
him in. Unbeknownst to the pair, a private detective in a car in the parking
lot takes their pictures through the window. Suddenly, the photographer sees another
man making his way towards the same room. When he enters, Dorothy tells Ray she
can explain what's happening. Her lover thinks the man is her husband, so
Ray shows them the red car parked outside and tells the woman that it's a
private investigator her husband hired. To diffuse the situation, the man hands Dorothy
a pair of sunglasses, tells her lover to walk to a nearby gas station where he can hail a cab,
and says he'll take care of the photographer. Two days later, Vic apologizes for losing
track of his client the other night. However, Ray says it's the third time h
e's
messed up in the last three months. So, the boss hands the employee his
severance pay and fires him. In his office, the man meets Lola, a
woman applying to be his assistant. To conduct the interview, Ray takes
her out to lunch at a restaurant. Suddenly, Putty, an acquaintance from his con
man days, interrupts the meal. The man asks about Ray's former partner, Jack McCadden,
whom he's heard is back in the country. Ray says he hasn't heard from Jack in years, so Putty informs him that hi
s former
partner has a $5,000,000 bounty on his head. Before he leaves, the man
hands Ray his business card. After Putty leaves, Ray asks Lola to describe
the man using only the brief interaction. She says he's probably a high
school graduate who now works as a book salesman or missionary but who
also has ties to a criminal enterprise. Meanwhile, in a different part of the restaurant,
Putty tells his boss, The Mormon, that he heard Jack McCadden stole 15 million dollars from
the sultan of
Qatar. He adds that the elusive man took Ray's profit cut and ran away, implying
that the former partners aren't on good terms. Adelle, The Mormon's wife, remarks
that she finds Ray handsome. Concurrently, the former con man receives an
urgent phone call regarding a client. Then, he tells Lola that she got the job
and asks if she can start immediately. During the car ride, Ray explains that
their risk assessment and management business is actually a front for a
company that deals specific
ally with clients who wish to discreetly and
successfully cheat on their spouses. When Lola asks if they help
men cheat on their wives, he clarifies that he's an equal-opportunity
employer who also takes on female clients. At the Ellroy Hotel, Ray receives a key card
from Dorothy, and the pair fetch Robert Hatch, who's currently with his two mistresses, to
tell him to head to the lobby immediately. At the lobby, Ray hands Lola a cheap
knockoff necklace and instructs her to play along when
Robert's angry wife arrives. Moments later, Judith Hatch appears and
berates her husband for having an affair. She insults Lola, believing her to be the
mistress, so the woman slaps the wife and explains that she's there to hand over the
expensive jewelry Robert ordered for her. Elated and relieved, Judith hugs her
husband while holding the knockoff necklace. After the older couple heads
off with their driver, Hannibal, the assistant remarks that anyone can get
away with anything these day
s. However, Ray clarifies that they don't alibi crimes
nor condone being an instrument of revenge. Ten days later, Robert drops by
the office, and Ray tells him to be careful next time since his wife found
the hotel matches inside his coat pocket. Then, Robert asks the man to take his
son as a client because he wishes to sustain a discreet affair before
his marriage. The former con man declines because he no longer does field
work and says Lola can do it. However, the older man insists and
promises the
woman can be his handler moving forward. The next day, Ray meets with Wendell, Robert's
son, and they discuss the plan for the client to head to a bed and breakfast in Santa Barbara
with his lover under Ray's name, while the former con man heads to a broker's convention in a
hotel in San Francisco under Wendell's name. The client asks what'll
happen if his fiancee calls, so the man assures that all
calls will be redirected to him. That weekend, Wendell and his mistress, Heath
er, drive to Santa Barbara. The anxious man
keeps looking at the rearview mirror, worried the woman's boyfriend might be
tailing them. Then, they speak to Mr. Klump at the front desk, and the man hands
over his fake credit card under Ray Elliott. Meanwhile, at the broker's convention, Ray
runs into Irv, an old acquaintance who calls him Michael, one of his aliases. The man asks
about Jack's whereabouts, and the former con man says he'd also like to know where his
partner is because he has
a score to settle. While the couple makes love at the bed and
breakfast, Ray settles in in his hotel room. Later, Heather orders Wendell to strangle
her while they do the deed. At first, the man seems apprehensive, worried he might hurt
her, so she suggests a safe word to ease his mind. Minutes later, Ray receives a
call from the panicked client telling him that he thinks
he killed his girlfriend. The handler tells Wendell to call an ambulance, but the man says he can't go to jail because
it'll expose Ray's business and all his clients. When Wendell begs him for help, the former
con man spots Putty's card and devises a plan. So, he calls the man and offers him freelance
work taking care of Heather's body. Soon, Putty and his partner Bobo
arrive at the bed and breakfast, where the client accidentally mentions his
real name despite Ray's orders not to do so. The next day, at a beachside diner, the handler
asks Wendell if anyone knew he was going to Santa Barbara for the weeken
d. The man says his friends
knew but they didn't know who he was going with. When Ray asks if he thinks anyone's bound to
look for him, the client mentions Heather's Mexican-American boyfriend, who he's certain will
kill them both if he finds out what happened. He adds that the man at the front desk might
also recognize his face. Then, he notes that since he was booked under Ray's name at the
bed and breakfast, he technically wasn't there. Outside the diner, the handler calls a
hotline to
report his stolen credit card. In an indeterminate location, an imposing
hitman eliminates his tied-up target. That evening, Ray drops by Lola's apartment
and asks that she corroborate an alibi, putting him at her place from 7:30 PM until 9 AM. The next day, the handler meets with Robert
at the park to tell him what happened to his son over the weekend. The older man
offers $23,000 for Ray to take care of any loose ends and make sure the police
never trace anything back to Wendell. Suddenly
, Robert suspects that he's being played
and theorizes that if he does pay the money, Heather's going to show up on a beach
somewhere with the cash. However, Ray insists the woman's dead, and
the only reason he told the father what his son did was so he could
take care of the matter himself. Across the field, the hitman
intently observes the two men. Later, Ray drops by the
morgue to see his friend Cam, who says he thinks he has Jack McCadden's
corpse. However, when the man sees the body,
he's certain it isn't his former partner
because the man has a snake tattoo on his face. That afternoon, Santa Barbara Detective Bryce
asks Ray if he's ever seen Heather before, and the man says no. The cop notes the
coincidence of him losing his credit card the day before whoever supposedly stole
it checked into the bed and breakfast. Then, she asks how a former
con man ended up starting a consulting business and lists
off the many aliases Ray went by, revealing that the police are aware
of
his seedy past and think he killed Jack. Before she leaves, the woman takes a Polaroid
picture of the man and enters the elevator. Just as the doors close, he discreetly
takes her picture using his phone, then asks an employee to
download and print the photo. Minutes later, Lola wonders what
the cop wanted with her boss, but he brushes it off and says he'll need her to
handle some of his accounts in the next few weeks. In the basement parking lot,
Putty and Bobo arrive to pick Ray up
because The Mormon wishes to speak to him. In the house, Adelle follows the man around,
and when he politely shuts down her advances, she says she may be married to The Mormon, but he
doesn't own her. She says she's from a small town in South Dakota, and even though she's currently
in a big city, her life feels like a prison. Later, Ray meets with The Mormon, who proposes
he take him as a client, providing alibis for his hitman business. When the man declines, stating
that his company doesn
't alibi crimes, The Mormon reminds him that he already did, implying Putty
told him about the bed and breakfast incident. Ray says it was the first and last time it'd
happen, so the older man threatens to rat him out to the police as an accessory
to the crime if he refuses the offer. That evening, at a bar, Wendell and
his friends confront the former con man for telling his father about Heather.
When Ray backs him down into a corner, the cowardly man offers money in
exchange for not getti
ng beat up. As the handler leaves the establishment,
someone knocks him out with a pipe to the head. In an SUV, Ray regains consciousness and learns that Heather's boyfriend was
Hannibal, Robert's driver. The furious man demands to know where
his girlfriend is, but the former con man insists his credit card was stolen and he
didn't take the woman to the bed and breakfast. Hannibal doesn't believe him, so he and his friends take the captive to
an empty lot to beat him up. Eventually, Ray adm
its Wendell killed Heather and that they were having an
affair behind the man's back. As the group turns to leave to exact their
revenge, the injured man stops them and says there's a better way to take Wendell down
without risking going to jail. Hannibal says whatever plan he has in mind better
work, or he'll take Hatch's son out himself. Minutes later, he receives a call from The Mormon, who informs him that Robert called a hit
on him that afternoon. Ray tells the older man to take the jo
b so he, at least,
knows Hatch isn't hiring anyone else. Then, The Mormon says if the former
con man simply tells him where Jack is, they can call it even, but Ray doesn't answer. Later, the man heads to Lola's
apartment, where he comes clean regarding the situation he's currently in.
She wonders why he doesn't ask Jack for help, then theorizes he can't because
he and Jack are the same person. She adds that the theory makes sense because
no one knows where he got the money to start his com
pany and he's never struck her as the
type of person who takes orders from anyone. Bemused, Ray says it's funny that she thinks he's
Jack, while the police think he killed the man, and The Mormon's convinced
he knows where he's hiding. The next day, The Morman tells the
handler that he needs an airtight alibi on Thursday while he's at the Ellroy Hotel. Meanwhile, Lola meets with Robert and says
she knows he wants her boss dead. However, she adds that the man he hired to do
the job is curre
ntly working with Ray. So, she suggests doing it for
him instead and instructs him to bring $100,000 to the hotel tomorrow. Minutes later, the former con
man sees Lola leaving the hotel. Later, police officers interrogate Wendell
at the station regarding Ray's involvement with Heather's case, especially since
they had an altercation at a bar. Officer Sykes asks if he's ever been to the bed
and breakfast in Santa Barbara, and he says no. Suddenly, the cop takes a Polaroid picture,
prompting
the guilty man to panic after the officer says it's so the innkeeper has several
faces to choose from when they interview him tomorrow regarding who might've been at
the establishment when Heather was there. When the cops step away momentarily,
Wendell rifles through the folder and sees that Mr. Klump's going to be at
the Ellroy Hotel tomorrow at 6 PM. Seconds later, the officers
return and allow the man to leave. Then, Officer Sykes walks
toward the one-way mirror, and it's revealed that
Ray was on the other
side the whole time. He thanks the cop, who's a client, and promises him a
discount for doing him the favor. Later, one of Ray's employees
calls the innkeeper to tell him that he won a free stay at the Ellroy Hotel. Meanwhile, The Mormon sees the flowers
and a note a man named Bob sent to Adelle. Concurrently, the woman finds a note taped to her
mirror, and she giddily smiles as she reads it. In the lingerie shop, Ray secretly
speaks to Adelle in the dressing room and
asks if she got the gift
certificate he left for her. She says yes, so he tells her to go to the hotel
room he booked for them tomorrow at 6:15 PM. In another part of the city, Wendell buys a gun. The next day, Detective Bryce receives information about something going down at the
Ellroy Hotel later that afternoon. Later, Hannibal informs Ray about Mr. Klump's
and Wendell's respective arrivals at the hotel. Meanwhile, Robert shows Lola that
he has the money she asked for, so she says they
should head up to his room. Minutes later, Detective Bryce arrives and
enters the same elevator Robert and Lola are in. At the front desk, Wendell pretends
he's the innkeeper's grandson, so Dorothy gives him the room number. Concurrently, the officers follow the lead
they received and knock on Mr. Klump's door, unaware the man was brought there under
the false pretense of winning a contest. Moments later, The Mormon and his two lackeys
arrive, and he receives a key card from Dorothy. In Rob
ert's room, Lola flirts with the older man,
takes the cash, and promises to take care of Ray. Meanwhile, Judith finds a package
by her front door with a note from her husband telling Adelle to
meet him at the Ellroy Hotel. In the bathroom, Lola calls Ray and
says she's done her end of the plan, revealing that she was a
part of it the whole time. In the hallway, a bellhop bumps into the hitman. Thinking Lola wants to sleep with him, Robert
suggests they bathe in the tub together. To bide he
rself some time, the woman says she
needs to grab some ice for the champagne. At the lobby, Adelle receives a key card from
Dorothy after she says she's there to see Bob. Minutes later, Dorothy calls Lola to inform her
that Adelle's on her way to the twelfth floor. So, the woman heads to the elevator,
makes sure Putty's in the hallway where he can see inside the carriage,
pushes the button to open the doors, and compliments Adelle's shoes so the
lackey hears his boss's wife's voice. Meanwh
ile, when Ray enters a room, the
hitman's already there waiting for him. Concurrently, Detective Bryce
thinks it's best if she takes the innkeeper somewhere else, so
her partner radios for assistance. In The Mormon's room, Putty tells the
boss that he saw Adelle in the elevator, leading the man to believe
she's there to meet with Bob. So, he calls the front desk to ask if
any Bobs or Roberts are checked in, and Dorothy tells him an
"R. Elliot's" room number. After the trio leaves, Lola en
ters
the room and dumps Robert's cash into the briefcase that contains The
Mormon's payment for the hit job. In the hallway, someone wheels a service
cart with a lifeless body hidden underneath. In Robert's room, the unaware Adelle
removes her coat and heads to the bathroom, but to her surprise, finds
the unfamiliar man in the tub. Suddenly, The Mormon kicks the door open and
finds his wife with Robert in the bathroom. Meanwhile, Detective Bryce
takes Wendell down when he sees him wieldin
g a gun outside Mr. Klump's room. When the innkeeper sees the man, he tells the police that he's the
guy who checked in with Heather. After tormenting Robert for several
minutes, believing he's his wife's lover, Putty reminds The Mormon that it's almost 6.15 PM, their deadline for completing the job,
revealed to be on Detective Bryce. He grabs his weapon and tells his men
to stay behind with Adelle and Robert. Concurrently, the hit man fires
several shots into Ray's chest, takes a Polaroid
picture, and places the
photo in his journal under "Jack McCadden." Minutes later, The Mormon sees the cop in the
hallway and orders her to return to the room. To his surprise, a dozen police officers are
waiting with their guns pointed back at him. In Ray's room, a housekeeper happens
upon the dead body on the bed. By the hotel entrance, Lola overhears
police chatter about a certain Jack McCadden found lifeless in his room.
So, she hands the briefcase to Hannibal, says it's his, and runs
back to the elevator. Then, the anxious woman barges
into the room to see the body. Meanwhile, the police take Wendell and The
Mormon into custody. To save themselves, Putty and Bobo remove their conspicuous
attires and throw them in the garbage. As the officers take Lola out of the
room, she cracks a bemused smile. Concurrently, a perfectly fine
Ray exits through the hotel doors. In Robert's room, Judith looks down at her
guilty husband, who gives her a sheepish look. At the lobby, Doroth
y hands Adelle an envelope
with cash and a new identity compliments of Ray. Later, Cam tells Ray that he
disapproved of the fifteen previous bodies he showed him because he wanted a
good-looking corpse to pose for himself, revealing that he and Jack McCadden
are the same person. It also reveals Cam was the person wheeling the corpse
through the hotel in the service cart. The hit man, Sudhir, is Ray's old friend
who needed a body to show the Sultan of Qatar to collect the $5,000,000 bounty
and was part of the plan the whole time. At the airport, Lola jokingly admonishes Ray
for keeping a part of the plan a secret. So, the man says he'd like her to be a
part of his new life, not his old one. She asks where they should go, and
he says she can choose. However, when she suggests several places, the
man shoots them down immediately due to several pending cases his aliases
currently have in those countries. Eventually, the pair share a kiss, and Ray
notes how much taller Lola is
compared to him.
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