NYPD cop Jerry Broadfield has turned on his own, collaborating in a Special Prosecutor's investigation into police corruption. It's a move that lands him in a jail cell on a murder rap - there are those who are none too keen to see fellow officers lose their livelihoods for the sake of a would-be politician.

Scudder has his work cut out trying to free Broadfield - especially given his unwritten rule that everyone from the NYPD's top cop to the lowest gutter scum is guilty until proven innocent. And the job doesn't get any easier when he finds himself in bed with Broadfield's delectable wife.