<i>'The godfather of Australian crime fiction.'</i><br/><br/>Stripped of his investigator's licence and with his appeal denied, Cliff Hardy faces an uncertain future. Then something very personal happens that sends him off doing what he does best - confronting, questioning, provoking violence - with the lack of credentials not an issue.<br/><br/>Is policewoman Jane Farrow bent or straight? Will vertically challenged but charismatic media star Lee Townsend be a help or an obstacle? Taking and dealing out punishment, mostly on Sydney's North Shore, Hardy encounters corrupt cops, bereft wives and computer geeks. In a shadowy showdown at Balmoral Beach, Hardy sorts out those who need to be sorted, but his future remains even more clouded than before.<br/><br/>'Corris is a tried and true crime writer. Until you've read the Cliff Hardy series, you can't call yourself an aficionado of Aussie detective fiction.' - <i>The Age</i><br/><br/>'Hardy has grown into a vulnerable and engaging human being . . . Cheap motels are still his milieu.' - <i>The Weekend Australian</i>