In #1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Crais' homage to Raymond Chandler, journey back to 1950s L.A. where a private investigator's simple case turns deadly.

L.A. private investigator Eddie Church doesn't do divorce work, but collecting alimony and back child support for Louise Barris should be easy money. Korean War veteran Frank Barris has a new job and is flush again. All Eddie has to do is collect the check and deliver it to Louise and her airplane-loving little boy. When the check bounces, Eddie discovers that Louise isn't the only one after Frank and this case involves much more than just battling exes.

Robert Crais is the author of twenty-one previous novels, sixteen of them featuring private investigator Elvis Cole and his laconic ex-cop partner, Joe Pike. Before writing his first novel, Crais spent several years writing scripts for such major television series as Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, Miami Vice, Quincy, Baretta, and L.A. Law. He received an Emmy nomination for his work on Hill Street Blues, and one of his stand alone novels, Hostage, was made into a movie starring Bruce Willis. His novels have been translated into forty-two languages and are bestsellers around the world. A native of Louisiana, he lives in Los Angeles.