Harry Boschs latest case sees him alone, without backup - and this time its personal. The shooting of a Chinese liquor store owner in LA brings Harry Bosch back to the Rodney King riots and the moment a stranger gave a young cop sanctuary. Now the debt must be repaid, and Harry soon discovers the old mans death was no ordinary hold-up. Homing in on clues disregarded by the cops on the scene, Harry builds a picture of corruption and intimidation, with the local Triads at the heart of it. But as he tries to build a case and breach the impenetrable wall of silence in the local community, he finds he is taking a dragon by the tail - a dragon. Whose talons reach well beyond LA, and even the States. Suddenly the most precious thing in Harrys life is under threat.