Private investigator Toby Peters' life is turned upside down when his partner is jailed for murdering his ex-wife and his only hope of setting his partner free is the testimony of actress Joan Crawford.
Detective Mac Taylor wonders if he has encountered the perfect crime when his investigation of the death of a middle-aged man found in the elevator of an upscale building on the Upper East Side yields no bullets, no DNA evidence, and no motive, while Taylor's colleagues Stella Bonasera and Danny Messer try to figure out how a witness being held in protective custody in a locked hotel room ended up dead.
Private eye Toby Peters never expected to encounter heavyweight champion Joe Louis covered with blood and standing on a deserted beach next to the corpse of Peters's ex-wife's husband.
Chicago police sergeant Abe Liebermann is stunned early one morning to hear some of the worst news possible. His brother's son, David, has been murdered in a robbery the night before and David's pregnant wife, Carol, has been seriously wounded.
