CRY SCANDAL It all begins when Timothy Dane's former partner goes missing. He and Barney Glines had been private investigators but had parted company over Gline's shady tactics. However, Gline's secretary is worried, so Dane starts to dig. The more Dane uncovers, the dirtier Glines begins to look. He's been working with a sleazy magazine called Info that specializes in celebrity gossip, taking their dirty secrets and dealing a little blackmail on the side. Soon Dane is working for a group of theater producers who want Info shut down for good. Then it becomes personal when Dane falls for a Broadway starlet who is next in line for the Info treatment. It all leads back to Barney Glines-who is nowhere to be found. THE ROOT OF HIS EVIL Johnny Cashman is trying to put together the deal of a lifetime by investing in a Latin American general who is willing to trade arms for his country's gambling concessions in a takeover bid. But to make this happen, Cashman needs cash. So he starts to pull in some gambling debts, including the $200,000 that singer Buddy Lewis owes him. Buddy can only scrape together $100,000 but it's enough to send Timothy Dane down to Florida to trade the cash for Buddy's markers. Trouble is, the current Latin American regime doesn't want a takeover, and are prepared to do whatever is necessary to stop Dane. And if that weren't distraction enough, there's Lissa, Cashman's girl-one hell of a distraction.