What's Super Bowl Sunday without a little gambling party in Saratoga Springs? By bedtime, private detective Charlie Bradshaw's a busy man. The bash has been robbed, Charlie hasn't recovered a stolen painting and a grocer lies dead behind his cash register.

The names of five heavy gamblers promise to hold the key to the murder...and maybe much more. Charlie's investigation veers toward terror as it twists through a netherworld of unpleasant surprises.

"Dobyns is a graceful, assured writer with felicity of word and phrase. His characters spring to life, and he captures the charm of Saratoga Springs, both past and present." (The Washington Post)