Michael Mayo – författare

A bomb goes off behind Jimmy Quinn''s speakeasy. He figures it has something to do with the books that arrived in the mail-ledgers filled with columns of cryptic handwritten letters and numbers. What about the smooth Nazi who says he wants to buy Jimmy''s place? Why is a "moderately corrupt" police detective suddenly interested in "helping" Jimmy? Then there''s the girl from Jimmy''s past who just reappeared and has a hell of a story to tell.

There''s also a missing $100,000. Numbers boss Jacob "the Wise" Weiss thinks that Jimmy has it. His enforcer, the fearsome Mercer Weeks, is keeping a close eye on Jimmy. And there''s a dead guy in the warehouse, beaten to death and carrying a union card identifying him as Jimmy Quinn.

In 1931 famous author Willie Seabrook agrees to help a desperate young actress who''s the victim of voodoo. He hires Continental detective Theodore Opperman. With Jimmy''s help, they discover a plot that threatens three other women and even Jimmy''s speakeasy.

Two years later, Willie has been hitting the booze much too hard and he asks Jimmy''s help when the original threat reappears. Mrs. Opperman provides another gun when she, Willie, Jimmy and Connie go out to Couffignal House, a cliffside mansion on the North Shore for a violent conclusion.