Stalwart private eye Cliff Hardy has lost both his partner and his detective licence, and has now been felled by a massive heart attack on a San Diego pier. During his recovery he meets and befriends an expat Australian nurse, who asks him to track down her father in Sydney – who has disappeared in the usual mysterious circumstances. Hardy knows he shouldn’t … but she’s so interesting and attractive, and he’s never been a man to shy away from a challenge. Returning home, he must stay under the radar, knowing certain individuals are determined to destroy him.

Corris’s usual tightly wound fare is further enhanced by the increased profile of Hardy’s daughter Megan – a budding detective herself.