Read the cult classic behind the major new film starring Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon and Josh Brolin. It's been a while since Doc Sportello saw his ex-girlfriend, when suddenly out of nowhere she shows up with a story about a plot to kidnap a billionaire land developer. It all spells trouble to Doc, but before he knows it he is caught up in a bizarre tangle of motives and passions whose cast of characters includes surfers, hustlers, dopers and rockers, a murderous loan shark, a tenor sax player working undercover, an ex-con with a swastika tattoo, and a mysterious entity known as the Golden Fang.