Frank “Dolly” Dillon is a door-to-door salesman whose life is spiraling downward fast. He spends most of his day chasing down delinquent accounts like Pete Hendrickson. His malcontent wife walks out on him. He has to steal from his accounts to stay afloat and when his psychologically-sadistic boss catches Frank, he has him tossed in jail. One day he knocks on Ma Farrell’s door and she offers him sexual favors from her niece, Mona, for a chest of silverware. Because he is attracted to Mona and feels sorry for her, he only pretends to have sex with her and they fall for each other. When Mona reveals that her aunt has $100,000 stashed away in the basement, Frank gets an idea how to solve all their problems in one bloody coup. As Frank, never a paragon of mental health, begins to unravel, the book’s narrative form mirrors his psychological descent into hell. Widely regarded as one of Jim Thompson's best novels.