For the fourth straight novel in the Alphabet Mystery series, the viewpoint alternates between Millhone and other characters, principally Nora Vogelsang and Lorenzo Dante.

The opening chapter, however, is told from the perspective of a well-to-do young man, Phillip Lanahan, who borrows money from Dante, misses the payback date, and then loses it playing poker in Las Vegas.

In the main storyline, Millhone witnesses a woman shoplifting with a confederate inside the department store Nordstrom's.

She tells a nearby clerk, who alerts store security, and they capture and arrest the woman, named Audrey, before she can escape.

Shortly thereafter, Millhone runs into a former boyfriend in the police department, Cheney Phillips, who is out for the evening with a vice officer, Len Priddy, and his much-younger girlfriend, Abbey.

Kinsey, still investigating the death of Audrey, has a sudden flash of inspiration from an offhanded comment by her client; she returns to the department store to view the video footage and notices a bumper sticker on the car which had almost run her down.

The bags are then picked up minutes later by a truck that takes them to Dante's warehouse for distribution to various second hand stores around Southern California.

When Kinsey gives Cheney a copy of her findings thus far, he tells her to back off as she could be endangering the life of a confidential informant.

Her old friend Pinky Ford (the man who gave her her first set of lock picks) comes to her office and asks her to hold on to some photos for him.

On the day that Dante had told Cappi the computer records would be wiped out, Pinky's wife dies from her gunshot wound.

Dante punches Kinsey in the face, knocking her out and preventing her from getting between Cappi and Pinky and possibly being shot herself.