A tall black female detective, Shane Notfarg, in the San Diego County homicide detail is assigned the case of missing man, Arthur Flynn, in late 2008. Flynn disappeared from a fishing camp along the Russian River in Sonoma County. Shane discovers he was carrying ten thousand dollars in cash on him when he disappeared. She thought initially he had taken off to avoid paying alimony to his ex wife, now living with a wealthy man, Larry Swift, but recognizes he may have been mugged. She initially suspects men who had stolen gear from his abandoned tent. When Flynn’s car is found stripped and abandoned in Compton, the case takes a serious turn, especially when forensics determines there had been a dead body in the trunk of Flynn’s car whose DNA matches Flynn’s. She then discovers Flynn had written to the Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, claiming Swift was a large scale money launderer. The DEA believed the letter was written out of spite and had taken no action. Shane works to determine if there was indeed money laundering. It takes her seven years to find out what happened to Flynn, during which time she encounters a wide variety of criminality. The story comments in passing on racial issues that Shane, a professional woman, encounters in her work. It also comments on the seizure of assets of persons accused of handling illegal drugs/ funds before conviction. The ending of the novel will surprise you.
