Slightly Scarlet

In Bay City, California, it is generally known that the current civic administration under Mayor Robbins is corrupt as being controlled by gangster Solly Caspar, although nothing has been proven. Usually non-partisan Norman Marlowe, the publisher of the Bay City Journal newspaper, is endorsing Robbins' neophyte challenger, wealthy businessman Frank Jansen, in the upcoming election. Ben Grace, nicknamed the Genius as the educated one, works for Solly, and secretly envisions a different structure within this set-up, he aiming for the wealth and power that Solly has. His plan entails playing those within his network, including the Bay City Lieutenant of Detectives Dan Dietz, secretly for each other, promising things within the power of someone else on the so-called loose network of his team. His plan also entails becoming cozy with Jansen through his secretary/girlfriend June Lyons. A proverbial good girl from a poor background, June has been able to live a comfortable life ever since she started working for/dating Jansen. What Ben may not have envisioned was falling in love with June, and thus now how she will factor into what he does. Although aware of her, Ben might not have been fully cognizant about how much of a wild card June's younger sister, Dorothy Lyons, would be. Just paroled from prison where she was serving time for theft, Dorothy is a clinical kleptomaniac. June, who has always tried to protect Dorothy to the best of her ability, has neither exposed her to Jansen or told him about her besides the fact that she exists. Seductive Dorothy will do whatever to get what she wants, which includes having a good time while she's out of prison, where she will fight tooth and nail never to return.