In this darkly suspenseful novel, Lizbeth Greene, a celebrated crime novelist whose inspiration has run dry, seeks out Wilson Velez, a gang lord just removed from five years of solitary confinement. Convinced that writing a book about Velez could revive her ailing career, Lizbeth persuades Wilson's attorney to allow her to visit the notorious convict in his high-security Philadelphia prison.

While the two engage in a complex and fascinating dance of attraction and rejection, their increasingly intimate and dangerous exchanges build to an unforgettable climax.