by Joe Gores
First published 1974
Private investigator Neil Fargo takes what seems like a routine case when wealthy Maxwell Stayton hires him to locate his vanished daughter. The trail leads Fargo deep into San Francisco's criminal networks, where dealers and addicts populate a world far removed from Stayton's privileged circles. As Fargo navigates this dangerous terrain, he finds himself drawn into the drug trade. Meanwhile, Docker, a Vietnam War veteran connected to Fargo, wages his own violent crusade through the city's underworld. Docker's killing spree stems from a personal vendetta that drives him to eliminate enemies one by one. The two men's paths intersect as Fargo's search for the missing woman becomes entangled with Docker's quest for vengeance. Both investigations expose the rot beneath San Francisco's surface, where money and violence determine survival. Fargo must complete his mission while avoiding the chaos Docker leaves in his wake.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective, action
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, investigation
Setting: San Francisco
Period: 20th-century
216 pages · Hardcover · UNKNO
Content warnings: drug-use, violence