On the shore of the Thames, police secure the crime scene of a dead woman who has washed up on shore. At a nearby penthouse apartment, wealthy investor Vincent Lermontov hosts a birthday party for himself. He then excuses himself, goes upstairs, goes out on the balcony. He climbs up and looks at a bracelet on his left wrist, and tells it to save him from the fall. Vincent lets himself drop and lands on a taxi below, dying instantly. A woman on a motorcycle comes over and takes the bracelet.
An off-duty DS, Harry Clayton, is playing cards at a casino and losing. He goes all-in and loses, and a woman, Lily-Anna Lau, comes over and tells Harry that the game is over for him. Lily-Anna leads him to her father Freddie and confirms that Harry lost it all again. Freddie says that he doesn't want someone like Harry owing him so much money, and his debt is useless to him because no one will touch Harry. He gives Harry three days to pay what he owes, and Harry wonders what's going on. Freddie doesn't answer, and Harry tosses him a dime chip before walking out. Lily-Anna suggests that Harry knows some important people in his line of business, and suggests that he ask one of them for a favor.
Harry goes to the station and tells his partner, Suri Chohan, that he used to work with the new detective. When Suri asks if Harry had a long night, he claims that he turned in earlier and asks what their superior, DS Steve Orwell, has for them. Suri tells him about the dead woman in the Thames who didn't have an ID, and figures that Harry didn't go to bed early.
Later, Harry heads to a strip club and meets with the owner and his friend, Kalim. Harry explains that Freddie called in his debt and Kalim says that he's heard someone is threatening to kill Freddie. The DS doesn't believe it, and Kalim tells him to leave. Harry asks if Kalim's missing stripper, Kaylee Fenchurch, ever turned up. He says that the dead girl matched Kaylee's description, and Kalim merely says that he hopes it wasn't her.
In court, attorney Anna Clayton defends her client as Harry comes in. He watches as his x-wife tells the jury to focus on doubt. Once Anna's client is acquitted, he says that he was just passing and asks if it's still okay that he has Daisy that weekend. Anna figures that he could have killed and wants something else, and Harry invites her to have dinner with him. She refuses, saying that she's having dinner with someone else. As Harry goes, Anna wishes him a happy anniversary and he tells her the same.
When Harry goes back at the casino, Freddie confronts Harry and demands to know why he's there. Harry says that he's going to win his money back, and invites Freddie to join him for a drink and unburden himself. When Harry takes his arm, Freddie tells him to let him go and walks off. The DS starts playing blackjack and losing. A man comes in and demands to talk to Freddie, yelling at a croupier JC that "she's gone," and the bouncers take him out. Harry goes over to the roulette table and the woman on the motorcycle--Eve--watches him from the shadows.
An increasingly desperate Harry keeps losing, and Eve joins him and suggests he try the corners. Intrigued, Harry does so and Eve puts a hand on his shoulder. The wheel spins and Harry wins, and doesn't notice that Eve is wearing an old metal bracelet. She sits down with him and notices his wedding ring, and asks if she's there. Eve tells Harry to bet it all because he has nothing to lose. He plays a single number and wins, and Eve calls him by name, telling him to do it again on the same number as a crowd gathers. Harry does, and the dealer secretly switches balls. The DS sees him do it, and Harry's number comes up a winner again.
Later back at Harry's apartment, Harry and Eve undresses. When he wonders what happens, Eve suggests that luck is something that can be earned. The next morning, Harry wakes up and discovers that Eve is gone. He discovers that the bracelet is now on his left wrist, and there's no way to remove it. Eve has written the words "good luck" on the mirror.
As he heads to work, Harry texts Freddie that he has half of the money and will deliver it that night. As he drives to the station, a black cat runs out on the road ahead of him. Harry brakes just as a crane drops a pallet of bricks ahead of him, where he would have been if he hadn't swerved. He gets a voice mail from Suri about a bodying turning up in Chinatown, and drives there. She says that DS Steve Orwell is there because the chief called him in when Harry didn't answer Suri's earlier calls. Suri tells Harry that she deleted his text from the victim's phone before Steve got there. Steve greets Harry as they arrive at the corpse... and Harry realizes that it's Freddie. As Steve and his partner Ben Dodge leave, Ben slips Suri a note telling her to meet him tonight
Harry confirms that Freddie was strangled, and Suri gives him Freddie's phone and wonders why he was texting a dead man. Her partner insists that it won't affect their investigation, and insists that he isn't a suspect. There are no CCTVs, and Harry tells Suri to track down Lily-Anne. As Harry goes to his car, Suri says that she needs more and he admits that he owed Freddie money. He tells her that the murder has nothing to do with him, and Suri says that she has his back as long as she knows it's coming from the right place.
Next, Harry goes to an antiquities shop with a case. The secretary, Josie, welcomes him and calls back for her boss, Rich Clayton. Rich takes Harry back to his office and the DS asks Rich to look after the case for a while. Harry explains that he won the case with an antique gun from a dead man at a casino, and it's "in transition." Rich tells him to stop gambling, and Harry ignores him. He then asks Rich to examine the bracelet, and admits that he can't take it off. Rich is also unable to remove it, and admits that he has no idea what it is. As he takes a shaving from it for analysis, rich says that he's glad Harry is moving on from Anna. Harry insists that he still loves her, and Rich wonders if she loves Harry. When Harry says that she does, Rich warns that it may not be the case.
Later at the station, new chief inspector Alistair Winters addresses the detectives. He says that some sins have been committed within the department and he's there while his predecessor is enjoying an early retirement. Alistair insists that he's wants London to be proud of its police force, and looks over at Harry as he says that he'll do anything to make that happen.
In the morgue, Harry and Suri meet with the coroner, Doug. Kaylee was also strangled at least a week. There's no way to recover DNA from her body. Suri points out that Kaylee's strip club was less than a mile from Freddie's casino, but Doug merely says that strangling isn't a common MO. Harry looks at Freddie's corpse and points out that strangling is a clumsy way to kill someone. Vincent's corpse comes in and Harry notices that there's a bracelet mark on the man's wrist.
Back at their desks, Harry tells Suri that Kaylee's boss Kalim hinted that someone was trying to edge Freddie out. However, he points out that Kaylee's murder was precise while Freddie was just dumped in an alleyway. Harry tells Suri to check out the CCTVs near the casino on the night Freddie was killed, and talk to the croupiers. He then tracks down JC at a gym and handcuffs him to the walking machine, then turns up the speed when JC is less than cooperative. Harry asks for the name of the man at the casino yelling for Freddie, and JC says the man is named Kevin Grey. Kevin used to be on the staff but got cut two months ago over something involving Kaylee. Harry asks about the barman's outfit that Kevin was wearing when he came in, and a gasping JC gives Harry the address of the Footman's bar where he worked. The DS shuts off the machine and leaves.
That night, Kevin meets Kalim at the bar. Kalim warns that it’s not going to happen, and Kevin insists that time running out for him. He says that “she” owes her, and grabs Kalim, and insists that he can keep his mouth shut.
Harry goes back to Chinatown and sees Sari and Ben at a restaurant eating together. She sees Harry and comes over. And they walk down the street as he explains what he’s found about Kevin working at a karaoke bar. He spots Eve down the street, wearing a full helmet. Despite that, he finds her vaguely familiar but dismisses it as nothing. The two detectives go into the bar and find Lily-Anne singing. Harry takes her in.
The next morning, Alistair comes over and tells Harry that it’s been a long time. He wants to watch as Harry interviews the suspect, and admits that he didn’t expect Harry to still be there. Harry and Sari question Lily about her celebrating at the bar, and her lawyer Matthew Schofield, reminds them that Lily-Anne came in voluntarily, and Harry asks about Freddie’s dispute with Kevin. She says that Kevin used to work for Freddie and now her, but she claims she isn’t aware of any dispute between them. Lily-Anne insists that Freddie referred Kevin to her, and Sari says that they’ve heard the two men had a falling-out over Kaylee. The woman is surprised by the news, and tells Harry that Freddie had a girl in every bar in town. Harry wonders why she’d want to protect Kevin, and she says that she doesn’t. The DS says that the last time he saw Freddie, he smelled fear, and figures that he knew he was going to be killed. Lily-Anne claims that she doesn’t know what he means, and Harry points out that she seems unaffected. She asks him what they promised him, and Lily-Anne warns that Harry is playing a dangerous game.
As Lily-Anne starts to explain, Alistair watches on the monitor with Steve and Ben. He leans forward to hear Lily-Anne’s answer... and elsewhere in the building, two electricians on the power accidentally short out the cameras. Meanwhile, Lily-Anne says that Freddie died shortly after calling in Harry’s debt, and Harry was there the night it happened.
Once Lily and Schofield leave, Harry goes out and tells Suri that they have to talk. She tells him that there was a short and everything went down, and wonders why Harry wasn’t honest with her. He admits that he should have told her he was at the casino the night Freddie die, and Suri refuses to let Harry drag her down after two years with him. Steve comes over and says that they couldn’t tell who was interviewing who, and Suri walks away.
Daisy is out riding a bicycle and a man who knew Vincent backs into her. Harry soon gets the call from the hospital and goes there to wait with Anna. He blames himself for buying the bicycle for Daisy, and Anna assures him that their daughter loved him. When Anna talks about his weight, he complains about her going to fancy restaurants and they start arguing. He breaks it off and says that he just wanted to see her, and Anna insists that she hasn’t asked if he’s seeing anyone because she can’t bear to do it. She finally says that she was out with a friend, a divorce lawyer, and says that she doesn’t want to learn anything else. Anna figures that Harry is start gambling, and after a moment Harry insists that he’s trying to stop. She tells him to do something about it, for both of them.
The nurses bring Daisy out with her broken arm, and they go with her to her hospital room. They both doze off, and a nurse comes in to tell Harry that there’s someone to see him. He goes down to the ambulance bay where Eve is waiting. She asks if Daisy is okay and says that she’s sorry it happened. Eve admits that she’s been following him for a while, and she doesn’t have much time to explain because it’s dangerous for her. She says that she was meant to give the bracelet to someone else, and “he” knows it. The man it was promised to knows Harry has it and will come after him. Eve explains that whoever wears the bracelet is endowed with immense luck, and walks away. She warns that it’s a balance: powerful luck has a powerful price. Anna watches from the window as Eve drives off.
When Harry goes back in, he finds Suri waiting in the hallway. She tells Harry that she has something to show him, and brings up CCTV footage from five minutes before Freddie died. It shows Kalim at the Footman’s Bar at the same time that Kevin left, five minutes before Freddie died. They confront Kalim with the information, and warn that he’s an accessory to murder. Kalim tells Harry that he needs something, and Harry figures that someone murdered Kaylee as a warning to Freddie. When that didn’t work, the same person screwed with Kevin’s head to set him after Freddie. Harry demands to know who is pulling Kalim’s strings, and Kalim says that he doesn’t know. However, he says that he knows where Kevin is going to be.
At the station, Harry and Suri work out how Kevin will be leaving the country at the harbor. Alistair comes over and talks to Harry privately, and asks how Anna is. He says that he ran into her a month ago and she was in terrific form in court. Harry says that they’re working things out, and Alistair figures that she might be but Harry isn’t. He then tells Harry that Steve and Harry will both be running the Lau case.
At the docks that night, the two sets of partners watch for Kevin to show up. Ben spots a speedboat coming and calls it in, and while they wait Suri asks how he knows when someone is right for them. Harry tells her to hold on to whoever she finds, and the speedboat pulls up to the dock. Kevin signals a plane, and Bern steps out and calls to Kevin to surrender. Kevin shoots at him and Ben falls into the harbor. When Harry yells that he’s under arrest, Kevin leaps back into the speedboat and the driver takes off.
Suri confirms that Ben wasn’t hit, and Harry tells her to call in support while he and Ben go after Kevin in another speedboat. They head through the harbor while at the station, Alistair and Steve watch on the CCTVs.
Harry, driving, closes in on Kevin’s speedboat. Kevin shoots back and Harry takes evasive action. The other boat swings around, forcing Harry’s boat into a pier. It flips over and Harry is tossed clear. He tries to swim but his foot is caught in a rope. It sinks, pulling him down, and a man—Yury Becker--arrives in a Zodiac and has the driver hand him a machete.
Written by Gadfly on Jan 24, 2016