Chapter 1 Summary

Dave Robicheaux and his wife Annie inadvertently become involved in a underworld power struggle when the witness a small plane crash and rescue a young orphaned girl from the wreck. They take the girl home and Dave sparks the ire of an unknown criminal boss when he asks questions about the cause of the plane wreck. The situation spirals out of control and results in the murder of Annie during an attempted hit on Dave. Dave investigates as the criminals turn on each other until only one is left—whom Dave then arrests for murder.

The novel opens with Dave and Annie Robicheaux fishing and shrimping off Southwest Pass new New Iberia, Louisiana. Dave owns the boat and runs a local bait shop, and the couple has been married for one year. Dave is powerfully built but aged past his physical prime...