What is the main conflict in A Savage Place: A Spenser Novel by Robert B. Parker?

In this novel, Spenser handles a case that takes him from his native Boston to Los Angeles in order to protect a young, ambitious newscaster as she investigates corruption in the movie industry. Soon Spenser realizes this woman is in more trouble than he originally believed when her eyewitness, and only proof of her allegations, is found murdered. A Savage Place is a portrait of Los Angeles in the early eighties that both frightens and inspires Spenser's loyal fans and the newly initiated alike.