Private detective Joe Hannibal makes a welcome return to mystery fiction in The Fight in the Dog, his newest adventure by Wayne Dundee.When his reporter girlfriend, Jan Mosby, is viciously threatened in an attempt to keep her from investigating a wave of mysterious dognappings, Joe Hannibal becomes both personally and professionally involved. He is enlisted as a bodyguard to ensure Jan's safety as she digs deeper into the thefts to find out why they are occurring and who is behind them.Together, Hannibal and Jan sift through a series of diverse leads that take them from secret animal research labs to the dark dealings of a Satanic cult. They are aided by representatives of an animal rights group who educate them on the practices of brutal dog fighters and the ?bunchers? who supply them with animals to be sacrificed as expendable sparring partners for the training of pit fighters being conditioned to engage in bloody matches to the death. They also encounter a menacing motorcycle gang, the Hellraisers, led by a cold-blooded, dangerous psychopath.Gradually, the specter of someone wielding power and big money begins to emerge as the organizer behind much of the activity Hannibal and Jan are investigating. Before they arrive at the final startling answers, they will uncover more than the slaughter of dogs'human bodies are cropping up as someone tries to hide the truth. With their own lives literally on the line, Hannibal and Jan hurtle toward a shattering climax that once again begs the question of whether or not the most savage of animals is truly man.