A young girl has been found dead in a hotel room. The womanizing movie star Jumbo Nelson is the obvious suspect. Given that he spent the night with her. But he's innocent. Or at least he says he is.

Enter Spenser. Jumbo's lawyers hire him to find out who did it. Never one to turn down a challenge, Spenser starts to investigate. He finds an unlikely ally in the shape of Jumbo's bodyguard, Zebulon Sixkill. He's an alcoholic Cree warrior with a bad past and a worse temper. But given that there's a cold-blooded assassin on the loose, he might just prove to be the secret weapon Spenser needs.