Albert Jay Smalls is the prime suspect in the investigation into Cathy Lake's murder. The cops have no evidence or witnesses, but they're convinced he's hiding the truth and they've got just twelve hours to find out. Each cop has his own motive for wanting to nail Albert Jay Smalls. Jack Pierce is consumed by the murder of his daughter and his own promise to Cathy's mother. Norman Cohen is haunted by the terrible things he saw at the liberation of a concentration camp, Thomas Burke, Chief of police, has a dying son who he lost a long time ago.

Cook deftly weaves the tragedies of all their lives into the last twelve hours of their interrogation of the suspect, after which, unless they have a confession, they must let him go. Cook's skill at delving into the psychological depths of his characters turns an otherwise ordinary police procedural into a tense, haunting, and resonant novel.