The original French version Le Fond de la Bouteille, written in 1948 when Simenon was living in Arizona, appeared in 1949.

[1] The story is set in Arizona near the Mexican border: a rancher's life is disrupted by the appearance of his brother, who has escaped from jail and is determined to get across the Santa Cruz River to Mexico.

Returning home from a bar as rain ends a dry period, he discovers his brother Donald by his ranch.

He read in newspapers that Donald was imprisoned for wounding a police officer; he also had letters about him from their sister Emily, who has a career in Los Angeles.

The book was made into the 1956 film The Bottom of the Bottle, directed by Henry Hathaway and featuring Joseph Cotten as P.M., Van Johnson as Donald and Ruth Roman as Nora.