Den tidligere tennisstjerne Tony Wendice beslutter sig for at slå sin kone ihjel, dels for at få fat i hendes penge, dels som hævn for at hun tidligere har haft et ægteskabeligt sidespring. Han afpresser en gammel studenterkammerat til at kvæle hende, men da tingene går galt, prøver han at få vendt situationen til sin egen fordel.
Den succesrige krimiforfatter Sarah Morton føler sig udbrændt, og hendes redaktør tilbyder hende at låne hans villa i Sydfrankrig. Sarah finder sig hurtigt til rette i huset, men en dag dukker der en uventet gæst op - nemlig redaktørens unge datter. Sarah er fortørnet over at blive forstyrret, men også fascineret af den selvsikre unge kvinde, der solbader uden en trevl på kroppen og dyrker højlydt sex med forskellige mænd. Men en dag tager tingene en dramatisk drejning.
Owen Lift har verdens mest dominerende mor. Han begynder på et skrivekursus, hvor professoren Larry Donner opfordrer ham til at se Hitchcocks klassiker 'Farligt møde' som inspiration. Owen bliver så inspireret, at han kopierer plottet og forslår Larry, at han skal myrde Owens mor. Til gengæld vil Owen skaffe Larry af med han irriterende ex-kone.
Chinatown, San Francisco, 1928. Former private detective Dashiell Hammett, a compulsive drinker with tuberculosis who writes pulp fiction for a living, receives an unexpected visit from an old friend asking for help.
Den Oscar-belønnede Errol Morris løfter sløret for David Cornwells spændende liv og karriere – den tidligere spion, som er kendt i den litterære verden som John le Carré.
England, 1926. An American journalist looks for mystery writer Agatha Christie when she suddenly disappears without explanation, leaving no trace.
Don Gallico is an inventor of stage magic effects who aspires to become a star in his own right. Just before his first performance his act is shut down by capricious manager Ross Ormond who wants Gallico's brilliant buzz saw effect for the act of The Great Rinaldi, an established star. With this defeat, and the humiliation of having already lost his wife Claire to Ormond, Gallico decides it is time to take matters into his own hands.
A crime writer gets involved in a murder investigation.
A crime novelist receives a vital clue to the whereabouts of his long-missing fiancée.
Elmore Leonard, author of more than 40 novels, is renowned in the literary community. From his westerns and early novels of crime based in Detroit and South Florida, right through his complex and virtually plotless later work, Elmore Leonard dissected an America whose founding sins have continued to haunt it all the days. Leonard’s depiction of America is as real as Twain’s Hannibal, Faulkner’s Mississippi and Steinbeck’s Monterey. The new documentary ELMORE LEONARD: “But don’t try to write” explores the prolific author’s legacy and his influence on generations of writers. The documentary features exclusive images and previously unseen home movie footage, family photographs, and in-depth interviews with both literary experts and those who knew him well, including colleagues, family, and childhood friends.