Pursued from the shadows, Simon Pilgrim fled in terror from the floating restaurant Eton Boating Song. In the bar on the Eton, he had the choice spot, discreetly purveying high-stakes drugs to the Eton's well-to-do patrons. Now he's dead, his throat cut, and the police know that the drug syndicates are in an all-out war, with the Eton as the prize. Naomi Anstruther, a cop, is sent undercover into this turbulent drug world. Right away she becomes an unknowing pawn in the rival criminals' plans-and in the complex struggle between Harpur and his rival, ACC Desmond Iles. When Naomi's cover is threatened, Harpur and Iles must act with lightning speed to salvage the operation and-in an explosion of violence-try to get her out alive. This is Bill James's most brilliantly plotted story yet, and the tension is high-wire to the last minute. Bill James's Harpur and Iles books are deliciously un-savoury: a brilliant combination of almost Jacobean savagery and sexual betrayal with a tart comedy of contemporary manners.-John Harvey, Guardian Although each book in the series, which is set in a nameless city north of London, stands on its own, they all add up to a stunning history of how crime has changed the fabric and character of British society.-Publishers Weekly, starred review