'The godfather of Australian crime fiction.' Cliff Hardy is distracted by a romantic entanglement, but low on funds, and with his private investigator's licence restored, he is persuaded to take on a dubious case - a scheme to claim the reward on an abduction. When one of those involved is murdered, the problem takes a whole new turn. Cliff's relations with the police have never been easy, and the boys in blue are far from helpful as he tries to piece together a puzzle that can only end in violence.