California Homicide Detective Tom McMichael has every good reason to pass on the investigation of slain city patriarch Pete Braga. After all, it was former mayor and self-made millionaire Braga who killed Tom’s grandfather in a dispute over money—and Tom’s own father who, allegedly, sought revenge by savagely beating Braga’s son into imbecility. But there are others who hated the old man as well. And McMichael is a good cop determined to perform his duty to the best of his abilities—despite his growing feelings for the beautiful nurse who is the prime suspect in the brutal bludgeoning death . . . and despite a twisting trail that is leading him into deadly, dark, and very private places where he dearly wishes not to go.