SCHEDULE TWO

Grace Wu's been undercover for two years, gradually moving up in the ranks of San Francisco's narcotics trade. Her sale of a pound of coke to Clemente Moreno went off without a hitch, and the low-level Moreno seems to trust her. But now it's time for the big score—a deal with Kyungmoon Nho, a ruthless kidnapper and a man who doesn't mind killing his competition. Backed up by Elgin Lightfoot (DEA) and Lt. John Zito (SFPD), Grace is all set for a $100,000 buy from Nho. She doesn't know that Zito, a classic abuser strung out on coke and vodka, is ready to sell her out for a slice of Moreno's small-beer action. Dold (Bay of Sorrows, 1995, etc.), who presents the first half of this postcard from the pit with grim authority, ratchets up the tension by his telling close-ups of the seemingly endless moments just before things begin to go lethally wrong. It's only after the worst happens to Grace that the menace turns routine.