The private-detective business starts out badly for former Phoenix Deputy David Mapstone, who has teamed up with his old friend and boss, Sheriff Mike Peralta. Their first client is gunned down just after hiring them. The case: A suspicious death investigation involving a young Arizona woman who fell from a condo tower in San Diego. The police call Grace Hunter’s death a suicide, but the client doesn’t buy it. He’s her brother. Or is he? After his murder, police find multiple driver’s licenses and his real identity is a mystery. To complicate things further, an Arizona state senator who was instrumental in Peralta’s recent election defeat owns the condo. In San Diego, David finds the woman’s boyfriend, who is trying to care for their baby and can’t believe Grace would kill herself.
