Alex Young, police detective, has been assigned a new case. The beautiful daughter of a member of the city council, a bright Master's Degree candidate, has been strangled, her body left in an alley together with garbage cans and other debris, and her ring finger is missing. The missing finger adds more to the case than this simple fact. It adds layers of nuance to the case. Alex must uncover even more grisly details. He Investigates with vigor all of the leads even though he longs for the day when he can quit and deal only, as a private eye, nice, simple cases of divorce and crooks stealing from their companies' safes, which will leave Alex with more time for the good things of life, like good food, good beverages and the company of lovely women who care about the same things. The case's dynamics enter even his dreams, and are frequently frightening and bizarre. Lana therapeutic skills help, however to attempt to keep him semi-sane.