Ex-state trooper Harry Rane, who first appeared in Wallace Strobys brilliant debut novel, The Barbed-Wire Kiss, is at loose ends. Doing some investigative work for a friends firm just to keep himself busy, Harry meets Nikki Ellis, a woman desperate for help. Her ex, Johnny Harrow, was just released from prison after a seven-year stretch for attempted murder. Nikki hasnt spoken to him since he went down, but she knows what hes capable of, and that hell be looking for her-and for the baby she put up for adoption after Johnny went away. She knows its up to her to protect the child once again. And shes afraid. As Harry finds out, she should be. Johnny is headed home to New Jersey to settle up with anyone who did him wrong while he was gone, including Nikki and his former employer, mobster Joey Alea.
