Private eye V.I. Warshawski finds herself up against rampant corruption in Chicago's hospitals in the fourth novel in Sara Paretsky's New York Times bestselling series.
Young, diabetic, and pregnant, Consuelo Alvarado is lucky to have a mentor in V.I. Warshawski. But not even V.I. can help when Consuelo goes into premature labor in a remote suburb; mother and baby both die in the nearby hospital. When a young resident starts raising questions about Consuelo's treatment, what seemed like a tragic accident turns into something far more disturbing. What connection could the hospital have with Chicago's street gangs? What heavy secret is the hospital's neonatologist carrying? The questions the detective asks cut to the heart of everything that is troubling about the practice of medicine in America. Can V.I. sort out the answers before she herself ends up in the hospital morgue?