Panic at Ben's disappearance turns to terror when the kidnapper phones to reveal his apparent motive, a dark secret from Elvis's past. But the plot thickens and twists, and then twists again, as Elvis and his longtime buddy, tough guy Joe Pike, race the clock against a group of villains as sinister as they are capable. The author mixes Elvis's first-person narration with third-person sections that describe other points of view--a risky technique, but Crais makes it work. He also does a fine job resurrecting the wisecracking Elvis of earlier books while imbuing him with a new depth and darkness.

Elvis Cole loves his girlfriend. Lucy, but his job as a PI on the streets of Los Angeles has stretched their relationship to the limit - especially when it brings danger too close to Lucy's beloved son. Ben.

But at last things seem to be getting better, and when Lucy is out of town she leaves Ben in EIvis's care. Then Ben disappears. One minute he's playing on his computer in Elvis's house, the next he has vanished.