Who WAS that gorgeous model? When a helicopter loses power and plunges into the icy waters of scenic Lake Tahoe, killing its only passenger, millionaire Albert Crocker Vansittart, what looks like a routine claim against a life insurance policy turns into a mystery for investigator Hobart Lindsey and his sometime collaborator Marvia Plum. The reason: half a century ago, the youthful Vansittart had come across a hardboiled mystery novel and become obsessed with the glamorous model who'd posed for the cover painting. Now, Vansittart's multimillion dollar policy is to go to "the girl on the cover of Death in the Ditch." Lindsey's pursuit of the now-aged model (if she's even still alive!) leads him into a maze of violence and deception with its roots in the politics and wars of past decades.

Another first-rate combination of crime, collectibles, and American history—and the fifth book in this bestselling series!