Dismas Hardy knows something is amiss with his secretary, Phyllis. Her out-of-character behavior and sudden disappearances concern him, especially when he learns that her convict brother - a man who served twenty-five years in prison for attempted murder - has jusr been releases, But Hardy is stunned when goody-goody, "by the rules"Phyllis is suddenly arrested for allegedly abetting the murder of Hector Valdez. A coyote who'd been smuggling women from El Salvador and Mexico, Valdez was shot to death on the very day that Phyllis disappeared from work. Hardy realizes that if his irritating, but irreplaceable, colleague has any chance of going free, he must figure out how all these strands connect - and fast.
