'You'd think that when you see someone hit the floor right in front of you that you'd remember some telling, cinematic detail. The arc of the cigarette through the air, for instance, or the expression on the man's face. All I remember, though, is the curly-tailed dog looking up at me with the sort of expression that says, "Well, that just about puts the tin lid on it." ' After his mother's funeral, Dave Bartok's life takes an unexpected turn. A total stranger drops dead in his office, for starters. A good deed leads him into the company of powerful men who want to be Dave's friend. His girlfriend can't get enough of him. So what exactly is Dave's problem? And then there's the dog...