Victims — Collin Wilcox

Murder after midnight... Lt. Frank Hastings of the San Francisco Police Department is draggedf rom his warm bed to the palatial residence of a powerful local attorney. Murder is an ugly thing for even a cop to wake up to, and it's worse when the victim is someone the cop knew well - in this case Charlie Quade, a former homicide detective on Hastings' squad.

The investigation uncovers the festering sores of a family torn by the ruthless demands of its egocentric patriarch. Alex Guest has cruelly interfered in the lives of his children, driving them to divorce and alcoholism. Now he wants to extend his control to his grandson... and he is a man used to having his way.

Hastings' instincts tell him that someone has concocted the perfect frame-up. Now all he has to do is make sure that the right man is hanged.