After robbing a savings and loan, Brian takes refuge in a down-and-out used book store run by Maddy and Betty. The book store's principal customer is Christopher, who steals books his brother pays for at the end of each week. A suspicious cop has the shop surrounded. Roger, a public defender, enters in a clown costume. It's his day off and he is moonlighting. After bullets fly during a comic siege, Brian turns himself in to Claudia, a no-nonsense assistant district attorney, but first he hides some of the money he has stolen. Brian's partner Eddie is under Claudia's thumb and ordered to remain mute. Late that night, Brian, Maddy, Betty, Christopher and Roger converge on the book store to retrieve the stolen money. Brian has made a deal to return the stolen money. However everyone decides to kill Brian and share the money. In confusion, Betty is shot by Maddy, Brian decides to turn himself in, but first he lets the women keep some of the money. Stuart Kaminsky is author of 50 published novels, 5 biographies, 4 textbooks and 35 short stories. He also has screenwriting credits on four produced films including ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, ENEMY TERRITORY, A WOMAN IN THE WIND and HIDDEN FEARS. He is a past president of the Mystery Writers of America and has been nominated for six prestigious Edgar Allen Poe Awards including one for his short story 'Snow' in 1999.He won an Edgar for his novel A COLD RED SUNRISE, which was also awarded the Prix De Roman D'Aventure of France. He has been nominated for both a Shamus Award and a McCavity Readers Choice Award.Kaminsky writes several popular series including those featuring Lew Fonesca, Abraham Lieberman, Inspector Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov, and Toby Peters. He has also written two original Rockford Files novels. He is the 50th annual recipient of the Grandmaster 2006 for Lifetime Achievement from the Mystery Writers of America.