In 1940s Los Angeles, California, Monsignor Desmond “Des” Spellacy officiates at the wedding of construction magnate Jack Amsterdam’s daughter. Meanwhile, Des’s older brother, police sergeant Tom Spellacy, responds to a call from a local brothel. There, he discovers a priest, Father Mickey, who died during sexual intercourse. Tom’s sometime-mistress, madam Brenda Samuels, reminds the detective that he received payoffs from Jack Amsterdam and suggests Des also works in collusion with the gangster. She claims that her recent imprisonment was a set up to conceal the men’s rampant corruption. Back at the wedding, Des learns of Amsterdam’s plans to contribute a portion of his new housing development, “Rancho Rosa,” to build a Catholic school. Although Des suspects ulterior motives, he overlooks Amsterdam’s improper dealings to benefit the archdiocese. Sometime later, Tom Spellacy reports to a crime scene of a murdered young woman who was severed at the waist. Elsewhere, Des Spellacy and his confidante, Cardinal Danaher, attend a Mexican fiesta on Olvera Street, where they are greeted by Jack Amsterdam. As the priests are chauffeured away, the Cardinal expresses disdain for the corrupt businessman, but is willing to discount the man’s wrongdoings because his multi-million dollar donations are vital to the church. However, Des maintains that the archdiocese should end their dependence on Amsterdam after the new school is built. Later, at the police morgue, Tom and his partner, Frank Crotty, learn the murdered girl, Lois Fazenda, had undigested Chinese egg rolls in her stomach. Meanwhile, at the priory, Des’s mentor, Monsignor Seamus Fargo, is outsted from his position as chairman of the building fund because he spurns Amsterdam. Des later arranges to meet Amsterdam at a high-class restaurant, but notices that Tom has seated himself at a nearby table and joins his brother, instead. There, he glances at the Los Angeles Times headline, which refers to Lois Fazenda as the “Virgin Tramp.” When Amsterdam comes to the brothers’ table to boast of his good deeds, Tom reveals he once worked for the tycoon’s prostitution syndicate, receiving payoffs from Brenda Samuels. Amsterdam denies Tom’s claim, but Des is not deceived. As the “Virgin Tramp” murder remains unsolved and a tabloid sensation, Tom and Frank watch a pornographic film of the girl and notice that another cast member, prostitute Lorna Keane, was the woman “entertaining” Father Mickey the night he died. Tom returns to Brenda’s bordello and she identifies the pornographic filmmaker as Leland K. Standard. Tom searches for the man, but later learns he died in a car crash. Elsewhere, Monsignor Seamus Fargo warns Des that his business dealings with Amsterdam may come at a cost to his faith. Although Des argues he is using the money to benefit the church, he later tells Amsterdam’s associates that he wishes to end their relationship. Displeased by the news, the men argue that Des is merely protecting his brother. Back at the priory, Cardinal Danaher orders Des to fire his mentor, Monsignor Fargo, and promises to reward the young man with a Bishop rank. Meanwhile, Tom asks Lois’s parents if he can hold on to her diary. Inside, he finds Amsterdam’s telephone number and learns that Lois was his mistress. At an awards luncheon where Amsterdam is named “Catholic Layman of the Year,” Tom discovers that the mogul was treated in a hospital the same night Lois was killed. Just as Des reveals the archdiocese is “reevaluating” their relationship with Amsterdam, Tom accuses the man of killing Lois. Outraged, Amsterdam attacks Tom, leaving Des stuck in the middle, between his benefactor and his brother. That Sunday, after mass, Amsterdam’s associate, Dan T. Campion, reminds Des they once met Lois together when they picked her up as a hitchhiker. Campion admits he had an affair with the girl, but insists he has an alibi for the night of the murder. Back at the police station, prostitute Lorna Keane is detained and reveals the whereabouts of Leland K. Standard’s pornographic film operation. When Tom discovers that Standard’s car crash happened just eleven hours after Lois’s murder, he visits the man’s warehouse and discovers a box of decaying egg rolls. Inside, a trail of blood leads to a stained bathtub, and suggestive photographs of Lois are arranged with a letter of recommendation from Amsterdam. Back at the police station, Tom is alerted to the suicide of madam Brenda Samuels and learns she telephoned Amsterdam just before her death. Although Tom wants to arrest Amsterdam immediately, his partner, Frank, warns they have no evidence, and Des’s ministry will be destroyed by the exposure. In the church confessional, Amsterdam threatens to publicly disclose that Des had a relationship with Lois. As Amsterdam leaves, Tom storms into the confessional and insists on going after the gangster, no matter what happens to Des. The young monsignor agrees he should not be redeemed. Years later, Tom visits Des at the remote church of the now-deceased Monsignor Seamus Fargo, who established the ministry after his eviction from the Los Angeles archdiocese. There, Des announces he will soon die from a terminal illness and Tom apologizes for the Amsterdam case. However, Des insists the incident prompted his true salvation, and shows his brother the cemetery plot in which he will be buried.