A new red 1951 Cadillac half underwater. The bodies of a man and woman drowned in the trunk. One rapist. A reporter and his sister. A mobster and his father-in-law—a Brooklyn Don. All tied together by one initial crime. Add to that the return of the man who killed Marlowe Black's fiancée. And, of course, some women. Oh, and a world-famous mystery writer who hires Marlowe to unravel and tie up loose ends (no pun intended) by discovering who killed the two in the trunk. And why they died as the writer witnessed their death throes late one night. Did I mention a dancer who only eats food cited in the titles of popular songs? The what and when are a matter of history. The why might even sound easy. But the who responsible for the crime and how it was done and covered up might prove more difficult to resolve. Before he discovers the answers, Marlowe will make a couple of new friends, but he'll need to shoot his way through a few new and old enemies before he dies trying.