By the time Matt Scudder has finished tracking a killer through the alleys of Hell's Kitchen, he has drawn us a new map of the darker regions of the human soul. Matt's investigation launches him on an unintended voyage of self-discovery, and the more he digs beneath the surface of Glenn Holtzmann's life, the more unsettling things he finds out about himself.

But nothing's ever open and shut in Scudder's world, and there's a lot more to the dead yuppie lawyer than ever met the eye. How come nobody knows anything about Holtzmann's past? How did he live so high on such a modest salary? And what was he doing on Eleventh Avenue, anyway? Why wasn't he home with his wife? Matt Scudder's New York is a town where opposites collide. Rich and poor, good and evil, sunlight and shadow. Sometimes the glare is so bright you can almost see the heart of darkness.