Carl Webster

Elmore Leonard

Set in Detroit in the waning months of World War II, this fast-paced crime novel follows U.S. marshal Carl Webster as he tracks a dangerous German spy amid a tangled web of fugitives, schemers, and hopelessly inept enemy agents. His pursuit becomes complicated by Honey Deal, a fiercely independent woman drawn to Carl despite his marriage, and by an eccentric cast that includes a hard-drinking female spy and a transvestite houseboy. Blending sharp dialogue, dark humor, romance, and sudden violence, the story showcases a vividly offbeat underworld where loyalty is uncertain and danger can erupt without warning.