Hollywood, 1938, on the eve of the Second World War. Hank Jordan returns from Europe and tries to continue the small publishing house run by his brother Carl, who apparently took his own life. As he investigates the death, encounters with Jewish refugees, Nazi agents, and an unknown Humphrey Bogart draw him into a dark case where crime and politics converge.

A historical crime novel in which a journalist investigating his brother's death moves closer to the dangers hidden among exiles and the fringes of prewar Hollywood.