Jack Irish doesn't spook too easy. He's had guns pointed at him too many times - more often since he started hiring himself out as a debt collector - and he saves his nerves for the racetrack. So when he receives a phone message from an ex-client begging for help, he's inclined to ignore it. It's not an acquaintance he's looking to renew. Some-time lawyer, part-time private eye, he has some old memories - and old friends - he'd do better to forget. But then the caller turns up dead. And Jack has no choice but to take a trip down memory lane - into dangerous territories. There are some old debts that need chasing...