Joe Mannix is a private eye, originally working for a private security firm Intertect but after the first season striking out on his own. Helping him is his loyal secretary Peggy Fair and first his boss at Intertect, Lew Wickersham, then his police contact, Lieutenant Art Malcolm. One of the most violent shows on television at the time, Mannix was knocked out 55 times and shot 17 times over the course of eight years.