Sophie Martinelli spent fifteen years in prison for crimes she didn't commit. The Los Angeles political machine used her as a scapegoat and threw away the key. On the night of her release, someone slit her throat. Chris Hyde was five years old when Sophie took him in. He grew up calling her Mum. Now he's a twenty-seven-year-old former Governor's aide with a law degree, a burning need for answers, and nothing left to lose. With sharp-tongued private investigator Corrine Parker working the angles alongside him, Chris digs into a city running on corruption: mob money, a mayoral candidate with something to hide, and a hitman with a very distinctive signature. The deeper he pushes, the more dangerous it gets. And the killer isn't finished.