A client happens to fall from the twentieth story of a building; a rock star goes missing; an erotic Mongol scroll vanishes; a film star has a problem that has nothing to do with creativity - it's all in a day's work for Cliff Hardy. Yachts dance on the sparkling waters of the harbour, and the back alleys are busy; the city's high and low classes go about their daily business.
But nothing really surprises Hardy; and, for a hundred and twenty-five a day (plus expenses), he'll provide a few surprises of his own...