Seymour Brathwaite, a young physicist, was found standing over the body of a murdered man. Charcoal Joe, one of the deadliest men in America, wants Brathwaite cleared. Easy Rawlins, a renowned Los Angeles PI, cannot refuse Charcoal Joe. But what links the king of the LA underworld to Seymour Brathwaite? And can Easy find the evidence before he gets embroiled in something much, much worse?