From the New York Times bestselling author of the Quinn Colson series comes a noir crime classic about one of the most notorious trials in American history.
San Francisco, September 1921: Silent-screen comedy star Roscoe âFattyâ Arbuckle is throwing a wild party in his suite at the St. Francis Hotelâgirls, jazz, bootleg hooch ⌠and a dead actress named Virginia Rappe.
The D.A. says it was Arbuckle who killed herâcrushed her under his weightâand brings him up on manslaughter charges. William Randolph Hearstâs newspapers stir up the public and demand a guilty verdict.
In desperation, Arbuckleâs defense team hires an operative from the famed Pinkerton detective agency to investigate and, they hope, discover the truth. The agentâs name is Dashiell Hammett ⌠and what he discovers will change American legal historyâand his own lifeâforever.