A homeless man's corpse sends a California D.A. down a twisted path in this classic hard-boiled mystery from the author of the Perry Mason series.

"The bestselling author of the century . . . a master storyteller." --The New York Times

District Attorney Doug Selby's latest trouble begins when the battered corpse of a vagabond is found near the railroad in Madison County. The coroner suspects he was struck by a train. Searching the dead man's wallet, they discover he had a wealthy brother in Phoenix. But who was the dead man? And how did he make it to the train tracks. . . ?

Meanwhile, a neighboring city needs Doug's help. A bookkeeper named John Burke has vanished, potentially with funds stolen from his employer. Burke's neighbors report seeing a drifter in the alley near their house. And when Selby and Sheriff Rex Brandon speak to Burke's employer, they discover Burke wired him from Phoenix . . .

Selby thinks he has found two threads that will tie together neatly in a bow, but the more he investigates, the more he is left in knots.