Mickey Dupree is one of the most successful criminal attorneys in upstate New York. The downside to this is that Mickey has a lot of enemies, one of whom drives a golf club through his heart.

The cops have one suspect: Virgil Cain, whose recent exclamation that 'somebody ought to blow Mickey's head off' - after Mickey freed the wealthy, gun-obsessed lunatic accused of murdering his wife - has left him in hot water.

Dim-witted detective Joe Brady throws Virgil in jail, no questions asked. So, realising that his unlucky streak is about to get a whole lot worse unless he finds who's really responsible, Virgil busts out of jail and begins his hunt, with only savvy detective Claire Marchand prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.

As the evidence against him mounts, and he begins to upset some rather dubious people, Virgil is truly on the run in this witty, thrilling and blistering tale.