<DIV>In this hard-boiled detective novel, private investigator Cliff Hardy is looking forward to his new assignment. When rich, beautiful Lorraine Master hires him to look into the circumstances surrounding her husband's conviction for smuggling heroin on the island paradise of New Caledonia, Hardy welcomes the idea of a week on a generous expense account under a tropical sky. But his island escape proves to be anything but relaxing as he finds Stewart Master's business associates to be a difficult and dangerous bunch. The action returns to Hardy's normal stomping grounds of Sydney, Australia, where he and his client become targets in an intricate conspiracy gone seriously wrong and tangle with a tricky lawyer and a corrupt ex-cop. With punchy dialogue and exotic settings, this is a fresh adventure for a well-established character with an international following.<br></div>