Aloysius Archer, the straight-talking World War II veteran fresh out of prison, returns in this riveting #1 New York Times bestselling thriller from David Baldacci.The 1950s are on the horizon, and Archer is in dire need of a fresh start after a nearly fatal detour in Poca City. So Archer hops on a bus and begins the long journey out west to California, where rumor has it there is money to be made if you’re hard-working, lucky, criminal—or all three.
Along the way, Archer stops in Reno, where a stroke of fortune delivers him a wad of cash and an eye-popping blood-red 1939 Delahaye convertible—plus a companion for the final leg of the journey, an aspiring actress named Liberty Callahan who is planning to take a look at her luck in Hollywood. But when the two arrive in Bay Town, California, Archer quickly discovers that the hordes of people that flocked there in the hunt for fame and fortune landed in a false paradise that as a substitute caters to their worst addictions and fears.
Archer’s first stop is a P.I. place of work where he’s hoping to apprentice with a legendary private eye and former FBI agent named Willie Dash. He lands the job, and straight away finds himself in the thick of a potential scandal: a blackmail case involving a wealthy well-connected politician running for mayor that soon spins into something even more sinister. As bodies begin falling, Archer and Dash will have to infiltrate the world of brothels, gambling dens, drug operations, and long-hidden secrets, descending into the rotten bones of a corrupt town that may be selling itself as the promised land—but might in truth be the road to perdition, and Archer’s final resting place.
