Message from the King (2017) Plot Summary & Timeline

Jacob King arrives in Los Angeles after receiving a troubling message from his estranged sister, Bianca. With a return ticket set to expire in just seven days, he is fueled by a fierce urgency to locate her, even if it means staying in the cheapest accommodations. Upon reaching Bianca’s address, he encounters a neighbor who has been holding some of her belongings, hastily packed before her mysterious disappearance. This neighbor reveals a disturbing truth: Bianca’s husband has vanished, leaving their young stepson under her care.

As Jacob investigates further, he uncovers that Bianca had been cohabiting with a local businessman named Zico, who had covered her rent just before she left. Confronting Zico and his associates, they adamantly deny knowing Bianca’s fate. The plot thickens when a local shopkeeper cryptically advises Jacob to check the morgue, leading him to a heartbreaking discovery—Bianca’s lifeless body, brutally tortured.

While sifting through Bianca’s belongings, Jacob finds a series of photographs depicting her interactions with various men, including connections to a gang member who initially provided for her. Among these items is a dentist’s business card and a pack of cigarettes, seemingly innocuous but potentially pivotal in revealing the tangled web surrounding his sister’s life.

At a party hosted by Bianca’s neighbor Trish, Jacob learns that his sister was deeply involved in the criminal underworld, interacting with notorious figures, including Frankie, her drug dealer. Determined to extract information from him, Jacob schemes to lure Frankie to the party, where he exacts brutal revenge.

Navigating this perilous landscape, Jacob encounters a grateful prostitute who, appreciating his choice not to involve the authorities, offers him access to her car—an invaluable resource for his quest for truth.

Jacob’s investigation takes an unexpected turn when he feigns a referral to Dr. Wentworth, a dentist who divulges that Bianca was being mercilessly exploited by Frankie to settle her husband’s debts. This shocking revelation deepens Jacob’s unease as he unearths the troubling dynamics surrounding his sister’s tragic end.

As the story unfolds, it becomes evident that Bianca was ensnared in a sinister plot linked to Frank Leary, a politician seeking office. Wentworth informs Leary, leading him to dispatch two hitmen to silence the problem—an ominous indication of the threats Jacob faces as he digs deeper into his sister’s tragic tale.

Jacob tracks Wentworth to the luxurious estate of Mike Preston, a renowned Hollywood producer. There, Wentworth audaciously demands $100,000 for the hitmen’s fees, plus an additional $750,000 in blackmail related to Bianca’s tragic fate. This otherwise serene setting is disrupted by the unexpected appearance of Armand, Bianca’s stepson, who has been residing at the mansion.

After leaving Preston’s property, Jacob notices a developing situation involving his sister’s stepson that piques Wentworth’s interest. Unbeknownst to Jacob, Wentworth keeps a close watch on him, swiftly informing the hitmen—two LAPD officers—who later capture him. In a moment of desperation, Jacob manages to escape, despite enduring a harrowing beating in the process.

Recovering from his ordeal, he finds refuge in the care of Kelly, a compassionate prostitute who had previously lent him her car. In her motel room, she helps him regain his strength, providing a brief respite amid the chaos.

In a daring move, Jacob constructs a makeshift bomb using tools from a hardware store and places it near a cache of money and drugs obtained from Frankie. A significant discovery follows: an encrypted SD card concealed in Bianca’s belongings within the pack of cigarettes ignites a new lead for Jacob. As he painstakingly decodes snippets of audio, he grows increasingly convinced that Preston is the true target.

Fueled by determination, Jacob stealthily enters Preston’s mansion and forces him to decrypt the file. The revelation is harrowing: footage exposes Preston engaging in abhorrent acts with Armand at a deplorable party, while also implicating Leary’s involvement with Bianca during a sordid orgy.

The chilling truth begins to surface when Preston confides that Bianca’s husband fell into crippling debt, leading him down paths of drugs and prostitution. After her husband’s murder, Bianca was coerced into selling Armand to Preston for a hefty sum. When she discovered the producer’s horrendous abuse of the boy, she took the footage and sought Jacob’s assistance.

Preston, seeing the potential fallout, hired Wentworth to rectify the situation, leading to the gang members responsible for Bianca’s demise to be dispatched. However, Jacob remains several steps ahead; he cunningly lures Duke, the gang members, and Wentworth to Preston’s mansion, ultimately resulting in Preston’s death and a devastating chain reaction that claims Wentworth and Duke as well.

In his effort to rescue Armand from the only surviving gang member—previously injured by Jacob—Jacob finds that the boy manages to escape his grasp. In a poignant moment, Jacob gives chase but ultimately relinquishes pursuit, recognizing the futility of his mission.

As the narrative unfolds, we bear witness to Jacob’s farewell to Kelly and her young daughter at a bus stop, signaling the onset of their return journey to a quaint town in New Mexico. With a subtle yet significant gesture, Jacob hands over a bag containing the spoils he took from Preston’s opulent mansion—a tangible reminder of his dexterous maneuvering. As the camera withdraws, Leary’s famed posters decorate the walls of Los Angeles, a testament to the city’s vibrant arts scene.

Eventually, King makes his way back to South Africa, where he is warmly welcomed by local authorities. It becomes apparent that this mysterious figure has been living a dual life, unveiling his true identity as a seasoned detective within the police force. As various threads of the narrative weave together, we explore the complex layers of Jacob’s character, a man propelled by motives that oscillate between righteousness and malevolence. The stage is set for a gripping saga of deception, intrigue, and ultimately, redemption as Jacob contends with the intricacies of his dual existence.