Appeal Denied — Peter Corris

Stripped of his investigator's license and with his appeal denied, Cliff Hardy faces an uncertain future. Then something very personal happens and sends him off doing what he does best … confronting, questioning, provoking violence … with his lace of credentials not an issue.

Is policewoman Jane Farrow bent or straight? Will vertically challenged but charismatic media star Lee Townsend be a help or an obstacle? Taking and dealing out punishment, mostly on Sydney's North Shore, Hardy encounters corrupt cops, bereft wives and computer geeks. In a showdown at Balmoral Beach, Hardy sorts out those who need to be sorted, but his future remains even more clouded than before.