When V. I. Warshawski is asked to find a man who’s been missing for four decades, the search turns lethal. To complicate matters, V.I.'s visiting cousin goes missing, V.I. almost dies in a fire, and information emerges about her father’s role in a racially charged trial. Afraid to discover that her father might have been a bent cop, V.I. takes the investigation all the way to its frightening end.