LADY IN CEMENT

While diving off the Miami coast seeking one of the 11 fabled Spanish galleons sunk in 1591, private investigator Tony Rome discovers a dead woman, her feet encased in cement (concrete), at the bottom of the ocean.

Rome reports this to Lieutenant Dave Santini and thinks nothing more of the incident, until Waldo Gronsky hires him to find a missing woman, Sondra Lomax. Gronsky has little money, so he allows Rome to pawn his watch to retain his services. Eventually, Gronsky admits that he just got out of prison because Sondra Lomax identified him as the perpetrator of a crime, which is why he hired Rome to find her.

After investigating the local hotspots and picking up on a few names, Rome soon comes across Kit Forrest, whose party Sondra Lomax was supposed to have attended. Rome's talking to Forrest raises the ire of racketeer Al Mungar, a supposedly reformed gangster who looks after Kit's interests. Mungar, his son, and some goons warn Rome off the case.

Rome is able to identify Lomax as the lady in cement by an artist who used her as a model. As he gets closer to solving the case, he eventually becomes a suspect and has to evade capture by Lt. Santini. Mungar is revealed to be a figurehead, and his son is the real muscle in the organization. He reveals that he killed Sondra and everyone who got in his way. He is about to kill Kit when Gronsky overpowers him. They call Santini, and the film closes with Kit and Tony together on his boat.

Rome uncovers that Mungar's son is behind the murders; Gronsky intervenes before Kit is harmed, and the police are called. The film ends with Kit and Tony together on his boat.

The ending ties up multiple threads, with Rome outsmarting both the criminal element and law enforcement suspicion. Justice prevails thanks to Gronsky's timely intervention, restoring order after a string of betrayals. The final scene leaves Rome and Kit together, closing the case on a lighter note and reaffirming the private eye’s knack for survival and connection.