White Butterfly

In 1956 Los Angeles, police sergeant Quinten Naylor interrupts the quiet domestic life of Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, who lives in Watts with his wife, Regina, their baby daughter, Edna, and his adopted mute son, Jesus. Naylor asks for Easy’s help on a case, and a sense of defeat in the officer’s plea convinces Easy to temporarily resume his former role as an unofficial private investigator. Naylor takes him to a vacant lot where the body of a young Black woman, Bonita Edwards, has been discovered. She is the third victim in a string of murders targeting “party girls,” following Juliette LeRoi and Willa Scott. The killer leaves a signature mark of cigar burns on his victims’ breasts. Naylor explains that the police are unable to get information from the Black community and asks Easy to investigate, but Easy, protective of his new life, initially refuses.

Easy visits Mofass, his associate who secretly manages his real estate portfolio. Mofass informs him of a lucrative offer from DeCampo Associates for a property in Compton, and Easy agrees to a meeting. Later, at a local bar, Easy runs into his estranged friend, Dupree Bouchard. He reveals he now works at Temple Hospital, the same place where Regina is a nurse’s aide. At home, tensions rise between Easy and Regina, who is suspicious of his secretive life and finances. After he tells her about the murders, they have a heated argument that culminates in him forcing himself on her. The next morning, Regina confronts him, accusing him of rape and of hiding his life from her. She demands six hundred dollars, questioning how he can so easily produce such a large sum of money.

The case takes a dramatic turn when a fourth victim, Robin Garnett, is found. Because she is a white UCLA coed, her murder becomes front-page news, putting immense pressure on the LAPD. A delegation of officials, including Captain Anthony Violette, Horace Voss from the mayor’s office, and Mr. Bergman from the governor’s office, visits Easy’s home with Naylor. They pressure him to cooperate, threatening to arrest his volatile best friend, Raymond “Mouse” Alexander, as a prime suspect. Easy agrees to help on the condition that they delay any arrests for a few days. He begins his investigation at a local bar, where the owner, John, reveals that Robin Garnett was a stripper known as Cyndi Starr, or the “White Butterfly.” John also tells him that the first victim, Juliette LeRoi, was at a club called Aretha’s on the night she was killed.

Easy goes to Aretha’s and questions the owner, Charlene Mars. She admits Juliette was there and got into a fight with a man named Gregory Jewel over a large, bearded man who spoke with a Caribbean-like accent. Following another lead, Easy learns Bonita Edwards was working at a brothel on Bethune Street. There, he pays a prostitute named Marla for information and learns Bonita did not know the other victims. His questioning angers the management, and he is forced to fight his way out. He asks Regina to get information on Gregory Jewel from Temple Hospital, and she provides his address. Easy finds Jewel badly beaten, and he confirms that a large, bearded man attacked him and left with Juliette.

Easy’s investigation leads him to Hollywood Row, the apartment building where Cyndi Starr lived. An old musician, Lips McGee, tells him Cyndi had been away for several months, during which another white woman named Sylvia stayed in her room. Easy breaks into Cyndi’s apartment and finds a UCLA sweater, a high school yearbook, and provocative photos of her as “The White Butterfly,” confirming her double life. He takes this evidence to Robin’s mother, who is devastated by the revelation. Meanwhile, Easy and Mofass meet with DeCampo Associates, who reveal they have inside information about a new road that will make Easy’s property extremely valuable and offer him a partnership. Sensing a crooked deal, Easy stalls.

Easy’s relationship with Regina deteriorates further after a major fight about his secrecy. He is warned off the case by Robin’s father, Vernor Garnett, and by Andrew Voss. Soon after, Mouse is arrested for the murders. To secure his release, Easy promises Naylor and Violette he will find the real killer. He and Mouse confront Charlene Mars and her bartender, Westley, at Aretha’s after hours. When Westley pulls a gun, Mouse shoots him in the shoulder. A terrified Charlene identifies the bearded man as Saunders and reveals that his cousin, Abernathy, works at Federal Butcher’s.

At Easy’s request, Regina looks into hospital records and discovers a J.T. Saunders began syphilis treatment in 1938 but never completed it, noting that untreated syphilis can cause severe psychological problems. Posing as a recruiter, Easy gets information from Randall Abernathy, who confirms his cousin J.T. has gone to his family’s home in Oakland. Easy and Mouse drive to Oakland and locate J.T.’s mother, Viola, who tells them J.T. frequents a nightclub called Tiny Bland’s. Viola also reveals that J.T. was with her on the day of Robin Garnett's murder, confirming for Easy that he was not Robin's killer. At the club, they witness Saunders being killed in what appears to be a bar fight, but Easy later learns the shooter was an undercover officer and that police had orchestrated the assassination to avoid a public scandal.

Easy returns home to find a note from Regina, who has left him for Dupree Bouchard and taken Edna. Devastated, Easy goes on a drinking binge until Mouse intervenes. Vernor Garnett then calls, revealing he has learned Robin had a baby named Feather. He has seen the birth certificate, which lists the baby’s race as “white,” and hires Easy to find his granddaughter. Easy learns from Cyndi’s neighbor that a powerful local criminal named Bull Horker was involved, though Horker denies it. Soon after, Easy is contacted by Sylvia Bride, Robin’s friend. She has the baby, along with Robin’s diary and a photo album, and demands two thousand dollars.

Easy arranges a meeting for Sylvia to show the Garnetts proof of the baby’s identity. Before the meeting, however, he is arrested for extortion based on a false complaint by Vernor Garnett. In a temporary jail, an attempt is made on Easy’s life, which he survives with an inmate’s help. Captain Violette reveals the attack was merely a warning, and Easy realizes Garnett framed him to stop his investigation. Mouse bails Easy out with money from a robbery and informs him that Bull Horker has been murdered. The charges against Easy are dropped after Mrs. Garnett confesses to her role in the cover-up, revealing that her husband was the killer and had falsely accused Easy. Vernor Garnett killed his own daughter because she threatened to expose him and her illegitimate child. He faked the serial killer’s M.O., killed Bull Horker to find Sylvia and the diary, and is now a fugitive.

A waiter gives Easy a tip that leads him to the Seacrest motel, where he finds Sylvia Bride murdered. Easy ambushes Vernor Garnett, beats him into submission, ties him up, and leaves an anonymous tip for the police. He then follows a lead to Redondo Beach, where he finds the baby, Feather, being cared for by a woman who was holding her for Bull Horker. He pays the woman and takes the child. Months later, Easy moves to a new neighborhood with Jesus and Feather. He has learned where Regina and Dupree are but decides to let them go, ending the cycle of violence. After Mouse applies pressure on DeCampo Associates, Easy secures a favorable partnership deal, preserving control of his property and beginning his new life as a father to his two children.