Jewel Cobb had come to St Bruno to climb on the fabled big city gravy train. As he tucked his .32 Beretta into the waistband of his trousers, he sensed he was about to turn his midnight fantasies into rich reality. Cousin Duncan had set little Jewel up to do the killing. The boy was hillbilly raw but country tough...and too dumb to get in Duncan's way after the victim was dead.

It seemed simple enough..a burglar caught in the act..bullets fired in panic..too bad the dead man was a prominent black councilman with big political ambitions but that's life. Find the burglar and you find the killer...simple as that.

But for detective Rene Shade it seemed a bit too simple..a bit too pat so he takes on City Hall as he follows a twisting trail through the sleazy streets of St Bruno's Cajun quarter, down the back alley balck ghettos into the murky bayous that ring the city. It's a trail that leads to corruption, betrayal and more murder.