A year ago, Dallas Homicide Detective Jeb Quinlin went through an alcohol rehab program that was rather more intense than usual, as he double-timed his treatment with tracking a serial killer on an AA agenda. Now, sober and taking things one day at a time on the job and cautiously but successfully involved with Madeline Meggers, a woman he met in the Jitter Joint, he's fragile but surviving. Quinlin and his partner Paul McCarren's latest case involves the gruesome murder of an investigative reporter. It seems that Richard Carlisle may have found more than he bargained for while following a lead on a hush-hush story. Tracing Carlisle's steps, the case leads Quinlin back to his roots in the legendary Texas ranching country of Comanche Gap, looking into the activities of the Colters, a prominent and wealthy family. But what could Carlisle possibly have found that was threatening enough to cost him his life? The truth promises to be more far-reaching, more dangerous, and much closer to home than Quinlin can imagine, pitting him, McCarren, and a few faces from Quinlin's past against one of the Lone Star State's most powerful families.

Howard Swindle is an Edgar-nominated true crime writer and a Pulitzer-Prize-winning editor for the Dallas Morning-News. His acclaimed first novel, Jitter Joint, also featured Dallas Homicide Detective Jeb Quinlin. Swindle lives near Dallas, Texas, with his wife and family.