After losing a hand in a sting operation, Kline, a detective, finds himself unwillingly dragged into a secret amputation cult, recruited into a strange world in order to solve a crime whose details the self-mutilated members of the cult are strangely reluctant to discuss. As he struggles to unravel the nightmarish dynamics of the society and figure out the crime, he accidentally violates caste laws and begins to realize that he is profoundly threatened. Without question, this novella is one of the most original and disturbing takes on the detective story in recent years.