Private investigator Lincoln Perry returns in an investigation that takes him from blue-collar bars to the offices of city officials, on a mission to understand why his old friend was killed in a brutal confrontation wit the Cleveland police.

Cleveland PI and former police officer Lincoln Perry has always been passionate about his work. But professional devotion becomes obsession when his childhood friend, Ed Gradduk, is accused of killing a woman then setting fire to the house where her body was found.

Still haunted by the circumstances that led to his estrangement from Gradduk, Perry is determined to get to the truth. But Gradduk is murdered before Perry gets anywhere. With the help of his partner, retired cop Joe Pritchard, Perry combs his old neighbourhood for answers, following a winding trail of dirty cops and suspicious fires toward the truth.

Michael Koryta's plot percolates with crisp dialogue that would impress Chandler himself. He demonstrates a gift for creating both sympathetic characters and a fast-moving, twisty plot.