Ex-cop turned P.I. Ron Shade gets two jobs in the space of a single day. First, attorney Rick Walters calls. Walters is preparing for a wrongful death civil suit against Dr. Todd Gooding, whose messy divorce and custody battle ended when his wife Laura was found dead. Walters has three weeks to prepare to face the hot-shot attorney and legendary P.I. who already got Gooding acquitted of the criminal charges. Long odds and a short time table make the case irresistible. Second, Lt. Bielmaster, with whom Shade has a long history of mutual dislike, asks for protection for his daughter from a low-life ex-boyfriend who is back in town. But is this a case of stalking or teenage love? Then, Shade’s manager calls with a longed for chance at the International Heavyweight Kickboxing Championship. It never rains, but it pours. Black, a police officer in the Chicago suburbs, maintains the pacing and tone of a police procedural while intricately weaving multiple plot lines together around a cast of interesting characters. Ron Shade's adventures began with A Killing Frost.