- A police inspector, nearing retirement, tracks a serial killer who is terrorizing New York.
- A serial killer is stalking New York. Inspector Edward X. Delaney is an NYPD detective, nearing retirement, who is trying to put together the pieces of the case. Are the victims somehow linked? What does the brutal method of death signify?—Michael C. Berch <mcb@postmodern.com>
- As New York City Police Detective Edward Delaney (Frank Sinatra) counts the days to his retirement, a psychotic serial killer commits random murders throughout the city with an unusual weapon. At the same time, Edward's wife, Barbara (Faye Dunaway), contracts a mysterious illness after her kidney operation that leaves her physician, Dr. Bernardi (George Coe), stumped. The seriousness of Barbara's illness could rob Edward of all he has to live for and shows his tender side as he frets over his younger wife. Every time the killer commits another murder, Barbara experiences a relapse and a thunderstorm inexplicably erupts.
Although Captain Broughton (Anthony Zerbe), his superior, orders Edward off the case, he is obsessed after a coroner named Dr. Sanford Ferguson (James Whitmore) reveals the killer used an odd form of pickax.
Edward teams up with Christopher Langley (Martin Gabel), a museum curator specializing in military weapons, who identifies the murder weapon as a mountain climber's ice ax.
At a store specializing in mountain-climbing equipment, the owner supplies a list to Edward and Christopher of individuals that purchased the specific tool, narrowing their search. Monica Gilbert (Brenda Vaccaro), the wife of one murder victim, helps the men eliminate suspects until they home in on an individual who lived in all the neighborhoods, where the murders occurred.
Edward goes to a large high-rise apartment building complex where he bribes Charles Lipsky (Joe Spinell), the doorman at the high rise block, to gain entry to a posh apartment owned by Daniel Blank (David Dukes), a publishing executive, who is revealed to be the killer. A confrontation occurs in which Edward finds the ice ax and faces the killer. Blank admits to Edward to being the serial killer, but refuses to be taken into custody and tells Edward to follow legal procedure. When Blank phones the police to report that Edward has broken into his apartment without a search warrant and is threatening him, Edward shoots Blank dead, eliminating the killer for good.... but also destroying his career.
Edward escapes prosecution for entering a person's residence without a warrant and killing an unarmed suspect, but is prematurely dismissed from the police force and his pension is revoked. Never the less, Edward returns to the hospital to be at his wife's bedside before she quietly passes away.
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