A wealthy Pasadena widow with a mean streak, a missing daughter-in-law with a past, and a gold coin worth a small fortune--the elements don't quite add up until Marlowe discovers evidence of murder, rape, blackmail, and the worst kind of human exploitation.

'Raymond Chandler is a star of the first magnitude.'-- Erle Stanley Gardner

'Raymond Chandler has given us a detective who is hard-boiled enough to be convincing . . . and that is no mean achievement.' -- The New York Times

Crime fiction master Raymond Chandler's third novel featuring Philip Marlowe, the "e;quintessential urban private eye"e; (Los Angeles Times).A wealthy Pasadena widow with a mean streak, a missing daughter-in-law with a past, and a gold coin worth a small fortune—the elements don't quite add up until Marlowe discovers evidence of murder, rape, blackmail, and the worst kind of human exploitation. "e;Raymond Chandler is a star of the first magnitude."e; Erle Stanley Gardner "e;Raymond Chandler has given us a detective who is hard-boiled enough to be convincing . . . and that is no mean achievement."e; --The New York Times