Easy Rawlins comes home from work, and finds more trouble on his doorstep in a day than most men encounter in a lifetime. A friend has left his daughter at Easy's house without so much as a note. Clearly this friend, Christmas Black, a veteran of Vietnam, fears for his life and his daughter's. Easy's closest friend, the man known as Mouse, has disappeared too — and his wife tells Easy that he is wanted for murder. Mouse has been a thorn in the police's side for so long that Easy is convinced that this time they will kill him as soon as they find him. Worst of all, Easy's longtime lover tells him that she plans to marry another man. In a world of hurt, Easy strikes out on his own to try to find one friend, save another, and save himself from the pain that is driving him out of his mind. On his path he meets drug dealers, corrupt officials, every manner of criminal and con — and a woman named Faith who may hold the key to more than one life. In his tenth Easy Rawlins novel, Walter Mosley writes with a grace and insight that few writers ever achieve. It is the clearest proof yet that Walter Mosley is one of this nation's finest writers.

Is there anyone who doesn't wonder now and again about how differently their life could have turned out? About a more interesting, more adventurous, more dangerous past they could have had? Ben Dibbuk is married to the beautiful Mona, has a lovely daughter and a well-paid job in NYC — but he's been locked in this dream for more years than he can say. But nothing can prepare Ben for his chance meeting with Star, a mysterious woman at a launch for the hip magazine Diablerie — because Star claims to share a gruesome secret that Ben just can't remember. Has Star spun a diabolical web of lies, or could it be that something terrible really did happen back in June 1979? Ben's grip on the truth begins to falter, and the line between what really happened and what might have done becomes harder and harder to negotiate Walter Mosley, creator of sometime-fixer Easy Rawlins who appeared in classic thrillers such as Devil in a Blue Dress, and recently, the shocking deliciously scandalous Killing Johnny Fry, is one of former US president Bill Clinton's favourite authors.

When Cordell Carmel catches his long-term girlfriend with another man — the thick-necked chauvinist Johnny Fry — something profound happens to him. Overnight Cordell's calm life dissolves. Finding himself prey both to thoughts of murder and an insatiable libido, he begins a dark sexual odyssey in search of retribution and gratification, leading him deep into the erotic heart of New York City.

It's the Summer of Love, but anxiety, not libido, is at the forefront of Easy Rawlins's thoughts. His daughter, Feather, has contracted a rare blood disease; to save her life, Easy must come up with $35,000 lickety-split. Predictably, his Watts pal Mouse has a surefire money-making plan that involves armed robbery. Rejecting that risky option, Easy tries his luck instead with a missing-persons job involving an eccentric lawyer and an alluring woman named Cinnamon Cargill. Indelible atmosphere; memorable characters; realistic suspense.