With his signature circular glasses and mustache, Michael Chow is an exuberant force at the crossroads between eccentricity and sophistication. The famed restaurateur defined “The Moment” with the openings of Mr. Chow, the bustling upscale Chinese eateries that attracted the glitterati of Swingin’ London, 70s Hollywood, and post Studio 54 New York.

When Hong Kong Inspector Lee is summoned to Los Angeles to investigate a kidnapping, the FBI doesn’t want any outside help and assigns cocky LAPD Detective James Carter to distract Lee from the case. Not content to watch the action from the sidelines, Lee and Carter form an unlikely partnership and investigate the case themselves.

“This is an entirely imaginary story about the writer Dashiell Hammett, who… in the words of one of his most gifted contemporaries… helped get murder out of the vicar’s rose garden and back to the people who are really good at it. The detective story has not been the same since.” So begins Hammett, the atmospheric and exciting tale of a young mystery writer who really lives the hard-boiled life he writes about — and learns to dig beneath the surface of his characters to reveal their deeper, darker motivations.

Modesty Blaise, a secret agent whose hair color, hair style, and mod clothing change at a snap of her fingers is being used by the British government as a decoy in an effort to thwart a diamond heist. She is being set up by the feds but is wise to the plot and calls in sidekick Willie Garvin and a few other friends to outsmart them. Meanwhile, at his island hideaway, Gabriel, the diamond thief has his own plans for Blaise and Garvin