It's everyday business when Wattles, the San FernandoValley's top "executive crook," sets up a hit. He establishes a chain ofcriminals to pass along the instructions and the money, thereby ensuring thatthe hitter doesn't know who hired him. Then one day Wattles finds his officesafe open and a single item missing: the piece of paper listing the crooks in the chain. When people associated with the chainbegin to pop up dead, the only person Wattles can turn to for help is JuniorBender, professional burglar and begrudging private eye for crooks.
But Junior already knows exactly who took Wattles' list; thesignature is obvious. It was Herbie Mott, Junior's burglar mentor andsecond fatherbut when Junior seeks him out to discuss the matter, hefinds him very unpleasantly murdered. Junior follows the links in the chainback toward the killer, and as he does, he learns disturbing things aboutHerbie's hidden past. Just how much of the life he's lived forthe past twenty years has been of his own making, and how much of it wasactually Herbie's game?