A cold case leads to chills and thrills in this adventure of Robert B. Parker's tough, Boston-based private eye, Spenser. Over the years, Spenser has built up an impressive web of connections on both sides of the law. But he's going to need more than just connections to meet the challenges of his latest investigation, digging into the facts behind the death of a bystander named Emily Gordon during a still-unsolved bank robbery that took place 28t years ago. At the time, a band of revolutionaries calling themselves the Dread Scott Brigade claimed responsibility for the crime but the authorities were never able to bring the criminals to justice. Any detective can tell you that answers are hard to come by even 28 hours after a crime. When hours turn to years, the difficulty level soars. Even a big fat fee wouldn't persuade Spenser to touch this case, if anyone but Paul Giacomin had brought him the case. But Paul is practically family, and he was asking Spenser to help his friend Daryl, the dead woman's daughter, to find the answers she needs to lay the past to rest. Soon Spenser is on the case, and up to his neck in everything from FBI cover-ups to Mob machinations. It doesn't take an old pro like Spenser long to realize that bringing to light the back story behind this decades-old crime involves uncovering public and private secrets that are still as deadly as ever.