- Haunted by the events of the first film, the self-loathing and overtly existential private investigator Carolus Guess must overcome his demons when called upon by an old colleague to solve a case that can't be solved.
- After having retrieved the necklace for the mysterious Duchess and witnessing the death of Alphonse, Private investigator Carolus Guess broods through life unable to overcome the demons of his past. Struggling to come to terms with the complexities that haunt his psyche, Guess must block out the cacophony of his own pseudo-tragedy in order to commit to the greater good of justice. A former colleague, Blaine, calls upon Guess to help solve a case that he says cannot be a solved. A girl is missing, and he believes a new drug that's been pervading the status quo of these streets may be involved. His only lead: an ape mask.
- Following the events of the first film, Carolus Guess is still haunted by Alphonse. Guess has retrieved the Duchesss necklace from Alphonse and indirectly killed Alphonse in the process, yet he still cannot get away from the demons of the past. While getting ready in the morning, he encounters a hallucination of Alphonse and then recollects himself with a vision at the pier.
After getting over this, Carolus ventures to the Duchesss residence, encountering minor Alphonse annoyances along the way. The Duchesss estranged husband has died recently, so the Duchess is currently in mourning. Carolus enters her residence, noticing photos of the husband, Claude, and then approaches the Duchess, who is watching videos from her honeymoon. After Carolus has had enough of watching with her, she pays him for completing the task from the first film of retrieving the necklace from Alphonse.
Carolus returns to the streets. While taking a break, he receives a phone call another private investigator named Blaine. Blaine states that he urgently requires Caroluss help and asks him to meet him at the docks. Carolus goes to the docks and boards Blaines boat. Blaine tells Carolus about a case he has been working for a couple of weeks and has gotten nowhere with; the case is big, and even the police are lost. A girl is missing, and all that is known is that something called Cloud 9 is involved. When asked if he has any leads, Blaine mentions an ape mask, which Carolus takes note of.
Upon finding out that Blaine never even checked the missing girls house, Carolus takes it upon himself to go there. He calls upon his regular driver, Juan, who briefly banters about raising his rates. When Carolus arrives at the missing girls house, he finds the door ajar. He enters, and finds three girls, seemingly dead, sprawled across a messy living room. Carolus recognizes one of them as the missing girl and also locates pill bottle labeled Cloud IX (which he pronounces as Cloud Icks).
He searches the room for any more clues and eventually comes across the business card of a drug runner named Jean-Paul Joseph. Carolus uses the missing girls cell phone to call an old friend of his, named Tony, who is currently an undercover narcotics cop. When asked about Cloud 9, Tony explains that its a new drug gaining influence on the streets quickly. When asked about Cloud Icks, Tony responds that hes never heard of it. Carolus asks Tony if he knows of Jean-Paul Joseph, and Tony tells him that he was a notorious drug runner who fell off the grid and is rumored to work exclusively for a private manufacturer now. Carolus has Tony set up a fake meeting with Jean-Paul Joseph and his associates to purchase some Cloud 9.
Tony takes Carolus to the rooftop of an empty parking garage to meet up with the drug dealers. They encounter, not only Jean-Paul Joseph, but also the man who seems to be his boss. However, this man is wearing an ape mask. There is also another silent henchman at the meeting. The man in the ape mask introduces Carolus and Tony to Cloud 9, throwing them a bottle labeled Cloud IX. This blows Caroluss mind, as he connects the dots that Cloud Icks and Cloud Nine are one and the same! The meeting continues on with Tony goading Ape Mask on as if hes planning to purchase a large sum of the drug. Ape Mask decides to let Jean-Paul Joseph discuss logistics of the potential purchase with Carolus, but Carolus quickly blows his cover by accident. This causes Jean-Paul Joseph to draw his weapon. Ape Mask tells both his men to kill Carolus and Tony, then makes a run for it. Tony quickly disarms the henchman known as Mákse and knocks him out. Meanwhile, Carolus engages in a battle with Jean-Paul Joseph. Although able to disarm Joseph, Carolus struggles to get the upper hand completely, until Joseph is shot from behind by Tony. Tony and Carolus share a nod as Tony drives away while Carolus pursues Ape Mask on foot.
The two run across a university campus until confronting in a one on one fight that ends up with Carolus unmasking the Ape Mask to reveal: another ape mask underneath! Ape Mask uses this as a distraction to get away from Carolus and two resume in a chase. Ape Mask calls Mákse and tells him to meet him with the car. When finally getting to the car, Carolus shows up just in time to fight Ape Mask once again. He quickly gets the upper hand and unmasks him to reveal the Duchesss dead husband: Claude! Mákse quickly exits the car and pistol whips Carolus, who goes unconscious.
Carolus wakes up tied to a chair in the dark, in a barn. Claude and Mákse soon enter and Claude reveals to Carolus that he never died. He faked his death to escape the grid and birth a drug empire that would dwarf his prior oil business. When their discussion is finished, Claude punches Carolus in the face, and then Mákse taunts Carolus by flicking a match at him. After the two exit, leaving the barn in darkness, Carolus escapes his bounds and then lights the match that was flicked at him.
Upon igniting the flame, Alphonse appears. As Carolus tries to find a way out, Alphonse both taunts him and illuminates him. While they argue about reminiscing the events of their pasts, Carolus becomes angry about Alphonses necklace thievery. Alphonse then presents the possibility that he was working as an associate of Claude all along, and that the Duchesss necklace which he stole actually contained within it (instead of cyanide) an early stage prototype of the Cloud IX drug. Therefore, Claude, the Duchesss husband, had hired Alphonse to retrieve the prototype that he secretly stowed in his wifes necklace. Carolus considers this but is still angered by the fact that Alphonse kept the necklace. Alphonse eventually laughs hysterically at his taunts towards Carolus, which Carolus takes advantage of and strangles him. However, Alphonses body disappears and Carolus looks back to see the door unlocked.
Carolus exits the barn to find himself in the middle of the wilderness. He wanders around in the beating sun and disorienting pathways, until finding a water tap. Now rehydrated, he reassures himself of his mission to defeat Claude, and then encounters Mákse, who is on his way to go check on the barn. The two fight, with Carolus taking a major beating. But in the end, Carolus is able to dodge a major punch and then chokes his foe to death. He takes Mákses phone and then finds a way out of the wilderness.
Back in his own apartment, Carolus is now working on physically solving a puzzle, whilst also solving the puzzle of this mystery in his head. The phone rings. Its Claude. Claude invites Carolus over to his house for dinner, and states that if he does not show up then the Duchess will die. Carolus reluctantly accepts, but then realizes, upon completing the puzzle, that he must defeat Claude. He prepares for this final confrontation, and heads to Claudes place.
Carolus enters Claudes mansion, is frisked by his guard, Felix, and then sits opposite Claude at the dinner table. The two share moments of silence until Felix serves them both eggs. Carolus detests eggs, which makes Claude happy. Claude, devouring his meal, mentions that dessert is a duel to the death, and once finishing dinner, has Felix bring them two swords. Claude offers a sword to Carolus and the fight begins. Carolus is obviously the superior swordsman so Claude gets scared and declares that swords are too dangerous. He pulls out a gun, touches it to Caroluss head, and offers him some Cloud 9IX before he executes him. Carolus quickly knocks the gun out of Claude hand and the two fight hand-to-hand throughout the house. Carolus breaks a bottle against Claudes face, and then uses Claudes disoriented rage to get the upper hand, using his momentum to defeat him. Carolus is able to spin Claude around, grab the gun from the floor, and then knee Claude in the face to finish the fight.
Claude crawls back towards the wall, as Carolus stands over him pointing the gun at him. Carolus shoots Claude, killing him and then calls Blaine to tell him that its finished. Carolus returns to the dinner tables and downs a glass of wine. He thinks about how he didnt do this for Blaine, or for the missing girl, or even for fun. Upon stepping over Claudes dead body, he realizes that hes done all of this for the Duchess and that he must tell her the truth about everything. He picks up the bottle of Cloud IX, and leaves.
Carolus drives through the night to get to the Duchesss residence, only to find her motionless, sprawled across a couch, holding a bag of pills. The bag falls from her hand, exploding onto the floor, and Carolus watches in terror. Seeing the Duchess dead then brings him back to a resolution. He states that now that the Duchess is dead, he must find her killer. "My work is just beginning."
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