For the most part, the area around Los Angeles County, near the neighborhood of Selby Flats, was rather quiet during the years of 1954 to 1959. However, near the end of 1959, D.A. Richard Hanley and his friend Los Angeles sheriff Lt. Carl Wyatt were about to contend with a man they knew back in their days working in New York City--- artist Joe Turino, who was a known criminal. This is the story of Joe Turino's criminal activities when he moved to and lived in Los Angeles.

In the fall of 1959, Dr. Dick Grant and his wife, Marie, considered having a child of their own. Unfortunately, Marie learned she was unable to conceive. She pleaded with Dick to adopt a child, but Dick refused and sent Marie to a bevy of fertility specialists instead. Dick later relented and he and Marie consulted an adoption agency, but the caseworker rightly sensed that Dick was halfhearted in his professed desire to have a child. At that point, Marie busied herself by developing her artistic talent and became friendly with a rugged fellow artist named Joe Turino. At Joe's suggestion, Marie took a job at the local art school, and they both began working for the highly respected Bowden Art Galleries. Dick and Laura looked down on Joe, a plainspoken man who worked nights as a newspaper pressman, but Marie liked Joe's simplicity and forthrightness and appreciated the way he nurtured her creative spirit. However, Dick and Laura might have been right to be suspicious about Joe because D.A. Richard Hanley and Lt. Carl Wyatt already were aware that Joe was running a baby brokerage business to sell newborn babies for a price. One such young woman was down-and-out model was Nora Sinclair Gibbs, who was hiding from her parents and was pregnant. Joe lied to the Sinclairs when they asked where their daughter was.

Through her artistic endeavors, Marie met Nora Gibbs, who Marie learned was pregnant, and, unbeknownst to Dick, Marie approached Nora about adopting her unborn child. Joe pressured Nora into complying with Marie's request. Nora gave birth to a girl, who Nora named Marie, after the prospective adoptive mother, Marie. Marie adopted the child and led Dick to believe it was all legal, which is what Joe led Marie to believe. Later,, then Nora had second thoughts and wanted baby Marie back, unfortunately Joe got into a fight with her and Nora was killed when she drove away from Joe and got into a car accident! To ensure a claim on the child, Marie lied and said she was Nora's sister. To Marie's bitter disappointment and Dick's relief, Nora's estranged parents surfaced and took the girl in and renamed her Amy Sinclair. Meanwhile, Joe closed down his illegal baby brokerage business following Marie's disappointment.

At this point, Dick and Marie had separated. Meanwhile, Joe was failing in love with Marie, but he didn't want her on the rebound. Joe persuaded Marie to call Dick, but Laura intercepted the message and informed Marie that Dick was through with her. Later, Dick and Marie got back together, yet reached another impasse when Dick remained adamantly opposed to adopting a child. They planned a divorce, and Marie accepted Joe's marriage proposal. Soon after, however, Marie and Joe were surprised by the arrival of their boss, the internationally known artist and entrepreneur Alex Bowden, who took an instant disliking to both Marie and Joe.

As Marie and Joe planned their wedding, they considered adopting a likable boy named Philip Collins. When Philip began suffering from fainting spells, Marie brought him to Dick, who discovered the boy had a narrow aorta. Usually indifferent to children, Dick bonded with Philip and performed brilliant surgery on the boy. Marie was deeply moved, for it was through Philip that she finally understood and appreciated Dick's dedication to medicine. To Joe's disappointment, Dick and Marie canceled their divorce, adopted Philip and left town with their new son. Meanwhile, Joe Turino himself met a young secretary named Julie Conrad and started dating the beautiful captivating young brunette, but Joe felt Julie was rather shallow.

In 1962, a complex and tragic woman was now to enter the life and Joe Turino. One of Alex's ex-wives, the alcoholic Doris Crandall arrived from San Francisco, with her and Alex's son Carter, in hopes of winning Alex back. Alex asked his cynical lawyer pal, George Hayes, to pay her off to get rid of her, but Doris wouldn't accept the money. Alex also hired Joe Turino to woo Doris. Joe wooed Doris also and he and Doris would become lovers. While Doris was also very appreciative of Joe's art work. Joe encouraged Doris to deject Alex from her life. Doris, thanks to Joe, was showing signs of becoming a strong and independent woman. Meanwhile, Joe overheard Henry Benedict give his daughter, Anne, a gun for projection. Joe broke into the Fletcher's home and stole the gun and gave it to Doris for protection. However, he secretly hoped that she would use it to kill Joe's rivals, Alex Bowden and George Hayes. Later, thanks to Joe, Doris went on a prolonged alcoholic bender. When she finally resurfaced, she had Anne's gun and threatened suicide. In an effort to retrieve the gun, Paul Fletcher grappled with Doris. The gun went off and the bullet hit Anne. She died on the operating table. Later, Doris's memory finally returned, and she testified that Anne's shooting was accidental. Soon after, Doris left town and returned to San Francisco and Paul was free to go on with his life.

Joe Turino left town also after Doris told him goodbye and after Lt. Carl Wyatt could find none of Joe Turino's fingerprints on Anne's gun.