In the detective business, Spenser sometimes had to bend the law. Other times, he broke it. But he lived by his own inviolate rules. He didn't kill unless he had to. He helped a friend in trouble. And he loved just one woman -- even though she was the one woman he'd just lost.

So when Susan's desperate letter arrived, Spenser didn't think twice. His best friend Hawk faced a life sentence in a California jail. And Susan had gotten herself into even bigger trouble. Now Spenser had to free them both even if it meant breaking his own rules to do it.