Joe Darling is a private eye down on his luck in Portland, Oregon in 1948. In this third and last book in the trilogy, Joe gets called to meet black leader Ely Smoot in Vanport, a city thrown up next to Portland for workers in Henry Kaiser's shipyards, many of them black. A big shot white racketeer is moving in on Vanport against Smoot who is trying to hold the line. His stunning light-skinned brunette daughter gives Joe a key to a safe house in white North Portland, where they can meet to exchange notes. When the flood of June, 1948 wipes out Vanport and the daughter disappears, Joe continues on the case tracking down white slavers. His chase takes him to Salem, Phoenix, and Rhododendron where he confronts the racketeer, who gets away.

Joe continues to dodge temptation from aggressive females, including a bountiful blonde secretary of the crime boss who winds up being his assistant. Adult situations.