This World, Then the Fireworks

Marty Lakewood, a journalist, is compelled to leave his family and Chicago after exposing extensive police corruption. He heads back to his quaint hometown on the California coast to care for his sick mother and reconnect with his sister, who is a sex worker and with whom he once had an inappropriate relationship. Struggling financially, he manipulates a female police officer into a romantic entanglement to facilitate the sale of her house.