Joe McGuire, retired from the Boston Police Department, has reluctantly accepted a position as a freelance investigator at a prestigious old law firm with a reputation to protect.

In his first week on the job he gets the expected assignments, such as background checks and insurance- fraud investigations. But lawyer Orin Flanigan has a more mysterious mission for McGuire, and he doesn’t seem to want to discuss it in the office.

When Flanigan’s body is later discovered, McGuire sets out to get to the bottom of events he never totally understood. What was Flanigan’s interest in locating the elusive fraudster Ross Myers? Who was the mysterious woman who spent hours in Flanigan’s office each week? And did McGuire’s investigation get Flanigan killed?

Meanwhile, McGuire’s home base is threatened. He has been living for several years with Ollie Schantz, his former partner, who is paralysed after a fishing accident, and with Ronnie, Schantz’s loyal wife. Now, Ronnie has found companionship outside the marriage. What’s a friend to do?

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