The Maze

John Corey, a former NYPD Homicide detective wounded in the line of duty, has since worked for the Federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force (ATTF) and the Diplomatic Surveillance Group (DSG), but is now unemployed and staying at his Uncle Harry's waterfront summer house in Mattituck, on Long Island's North Fork. His marriage to FBI agent Kate Mayfield has effectively ended, and when Harry rents the house for the summer, Corey faces the prospect of having nowhere to go.

Detective Sergeant Beth Penrose of the Suffolk County Homicide Squad, a former girlfriend, arrives with a message from Southold Police Chief Sylvester Maxwell: A former Suffolk County detective named Steve Landowski, who owns a private investigation (PI) firm called Security Solutions, wants to hire Corey. Beth pushes him to interview, hinting she might share her nearby cottage if he takes the job, but makes an odd request: He should not mention her name to Landowski. Over drinks, Max reinforces the pitch, arguing that Corey's résumé and law enforcement contacts would make him invaluable.

Corey visits Security Solutions, housed in a converted farmhouse near Riverhead, where receptionist Amy Lang screens him before his meeting with Landowski. Landowski, a former Vice Squad detective, gives him a tour revealing surveillance cameras in every room, two-way mirrors, a padlocked basement, and a locked attic. The second floor holds guest bedrooms and a recreation room where Landowski hosts weekly "Thirsty Thursdays," rotating events featuring exotic dancers and poker nights attended by cops, politicians, and prominent local figures. Corey leaves without committing, his detective instincts aroused.

That evening, Corey and Beth rekindle their relationship. He tells Kate their marriage is over, accepts a consulting position at Security Solutions with a delayed start and trial period, and moves into Beth's cottage. He soon suspects Beth and Max orchestrated his placement for undisclosed reasons and concludes he is being recruited as a confidential informant to investigate the firm from the inside.

At his second visit, Corey signs his agreement and learns that a former private investigator named Sharon Hite committed suicide, a fact neither Max nor Beth had mentioned. He meets Chip Quinlan, a cold former NYPD detective who had been dating Sharon; Lou Santangelo, Corey's former colleague from Missing Persons; and the other investigators. Corey connects Sharon's death, Beth's role in Homicide, and a missing prostitute named Tiffany Sanders to something far more serious than corruption.

Beth confirms his deduction. Their investigation is unauthorized, unsanctioned by the Suffolk County Police Department or the District Attorney's office. She leads an informal group of mostly female detectives who distrust the official chain of command and believe Quinlan murdered Sharon to silence her about what she had discovered regarding Tiffany Sanders.

Beth reveals the full scope: Tiffany was one of nine female bodies found dumped in the Fire Island National Wilderness Area, a barrier island off Long Island's south shore. The bodies, all nude and decomposed, were discovered over the previous spring through fall. Three were identified as sex workers; six were unidentified East Asian women presumed to be undocumented immigrants. Suffolk County Police Chief Edward Conners obstructed the investigation by stonewalling the FBI, halting the probe into Sharon's death, and removing Beth from the case. When Tiffany's mother hired Security Solutions, Sharon took the case but was reassigned and shortly afterward found dead.

Beth theorizes that Landowski runs an escort service using his PI agency as cover, procuring sex workers for wealthy clients through Thirsty Thursdays and disposing of bodies on Fire Island when women died. She raises the possibility that Conners himself may be the killer, citing his violent sexual behavior and his power as police chief to obstruct investigations. Max joins to discuss strategy, and the three agree Corey will attend the parties and build evidence for an FBI handoff. Corey privately resolves to move much faster than Beth's two-month timeline.

During a vacation in Bermuda, Beth shares a redacted document naming Conners as the prime suspect and negotiates a compromise: Corey will do one night of snooping while Landowski is on vacation, then resign.

Back at Security Solutions, Corey attends his first Thirsty Thursday, where approximately 30 guests include Conners and various politicians. He delivers remarks subtly mocking the officials by praising their commitment to clean government, deliberately naming Conners. He arranges cover for an overnight stay, rents a U-Haul to transport evidence to the FBI, and learns how the attic surveillance system works. Sensing his cover may be fraying, he moves his plan up to Friday night.

After midnight, Corey kills the surveillance feed, breaks into Landowski's office, and drops through a trapdoor into the basement. Behind a padlocked door in a repurposed coal bin, he discovers file cabinets of handwritten ledgers, prostitution client records, and shelves of videotapes from the hidden cameras. He also finds a rope he suspects contains DNA evidence linking Conners to a victim. Before he can load anything, Landowski calls down from above, gun drawn: He never left for vacation. Quinlan and Santangelo close in from other directions. Corey bluffs about wearing a wire, kicks Landowski in the face, and flees.

Losing his primary Glock, Corey vaults into a neighboring three-acre hedge maze with only a five-shot revolver. Landowski and Quinlan pursue while Santangelo retrieves an AR-15 rifle, night vision equipment, and Kevlar vests. Amy, whom Corey believed was at home, operates a surveillance drone overhead, directing the hunters to his position. Corey sets a mannequin decoy and draws fire from his pursuers, but their Kevlar absorbs his return shots. He finds Santangelo blocking the exit in his Corvette, fires his last bullet, pistol-whips Santangelo unconscious, and recovers the rifle and a vest. Driving back into the maze, Corey fatally wounds Quinlan and incapacitates Landowski.

Corey tells the dying Quinlan the death is for Sharon. He approaches the wounded Landowski, who asks for an ambulance, and executes him with Landowski's own weapon, dropping it beside the body. Exiting the maze, he finds the farmhouse engulfed in flames, with stored fireworks exploding through the roof. The evidence, never loaded from the basement, is incinerated. Amy appears with two guns, revealing she set the fire and was romantically involved with both Quinlan and Landowski. She holds Corey at gunpoint until Beth arrives and they take Amy into custody.

In the aftermath, Corey learns Max had an undisclosed sexual relationship with Amy, through which she extracted information for Landowski, partially compromising the group. Beth admits that part of her motivation included the possibility that Corey's disappearance, if caught, would give Homicide probable cause to investigate, essentially using him as potential bait. She also acknowledges personal revenge against Conners and residual anger over their past breakup. Once she recognized genuine feelings for Corey, she tried to pull him out, but he had already acted on his own.

Though the evidence is destroyed, Corey notes the case continues: Santangelo and Amy can provide testimony, and Conners should be worried. Jack Berger, the firm's disbarred attorney, arrives and pitches Corey on starting a new PI firm. When a car service takes Corey to the crossroads between Manhattan and Beth's cottage, he follows his heart and goes to Beth's house.