One-Shot Harry

It’s 1963. Reverend King Jr. is slated to speak in L.A. in two weeks, preparatory to his August March on Washington. Racial tension is rife in Los Angeles, but what’s new about that? When Korean War buddy Ben Kinslow dies in a crash, Black press photographer Harry Ingram isn’t convinced it’s an accident. Ben was working for a Provider, an influential white businessman working behind the scenes to undermine the candidacy for mayor of Tom Brady, who’s Black. Was Ben killed to shut him up? But how does a Black man go about digging up the truth in a city so openly racist? Harry follows his leads, calling on ordinary citizens, hoods, even members of the Nation of Islam and leftover Communists. Along the way he connects with a woman he may be in love with: she’s working for Brady, totes a gun and isn’t afraid to use it. In the end, they avert a crime but don’t catch a killer, who, protected by skin color and wealth, is untouchable in 1963 California. Unanswered questions raised along the way are left unresolved.