Private investigator Tom Welles (Nicolas Cage) is contacted by Daniel Longdale (Anthony Heald), attorney for wealthy widow Mrs. Christian (Myra Carter), whose husband has recently died. While clearing out her late husband's safe, she and Longdale found an 8mm film which appears to depict a real murder of a girl, but Mrs. Christian wants to know for certain.
After looking through missing persons files, Tom discovers that the girl is Mary Ann Mathews (Jenny Powell), and visits her mother, Janet Mathews (Amy Morton). While searching the house with her permission, he finds Mary Ann's diary, in which she says that she went to Hollywood to become a film star. He asks Mrs. Mathews whether she wants to know the truth, even if it is a horrible truth. She says that she wants to know what happened to her daughter, so after reading the diary and a note left for her mother inside of it, he leaves it for her and then leaves.