A hard-boiled mystery starring Frank Sinatra as the tough-as-nails Detective Joe Leland, The Detective was based on a novel by Roderick Thorp.

Called in to investigate the murder of Teddy Leikman, the homosexual son of a well-connected department store mogul, Leland executes an open-and-shut investigation. He quickly elicits a confession from Teddy's crazy roommate, and the defendant is convicted and executed while Leland scores a promotion. But when the widow of an accountant seeks out the Detective to look into the circumstances of her husband's death, Leland uncovers some startling evidence implicating a corrupt New York City political machine; an attempt on Leland's life further convinces him that the authorities have a stake in keeping this case closed...