Vincent Mora of the Miami Beach police force, on medical leave after having been shot during a mugging, is honest and open, the personification of a decent man, and unambitious except to succeed with the ladies. Through the course of the novel he interacts primarily with those who function just barely within legally acceptable bounds (Tommy Donovan, Jackie Garbo, DeLeon Johnson) and who do not bother to distinguish between morality and immorality. All of them are involved in the risky, high stakes world of big-time casino gambling.

The men's women — Iris, Linda, Nancy, et al. — are similarly amoral, but have compassion and heart as well as greed and ambition; further, they are brighter and more fearless than the men, often act independently of them, and are even more willing to take risks. Except for Iris, they also are survivors.

Although Leonard devotes much of the novel...