Someone was in the market for murder. After 10 years of drifting in and out of Emerson Ward's life, it looked as though Jessica Pearson was there to stay. But only a few hours after her arrival, a bullet crashing through a window kills her, and Emerson's dreams as well. An accident, the police say, but Emerson knows better. Someone wanted Jessica dead; now he wants to find out who, and why. The place to start? Jessica's suitcase stuffed with cash and stock-transaction receipts.

Everyone at the small upstate New York college where Emerson Ward is teaching for a semester is shocked when the body of a student is found hanging from a tree in the nearby woods. Just days before he died, Bob Marter tried to tell Emerson about something evil going on at the school, but backed down before he went any further. Now Emerson is convinced that this was no suicide...someone wanted Bob dead.

When your life is at an all-time low, how can it get any worse? Emerson Ward finds out one steamy August morning when the phone starts ringing too early to be anything but bad news. Before the day is over he learns that a good friend is missing, another is hospitalized after a brutal beating, his phone is tapped, and the woman he loves is leaving him. In an attempt to lend a hand to all who need it, one thing leads to another, and before Emerson knows it, he’s up to his neck in dirty dealings and danger to match.

Chicago freelance writer and reluctant sleuth Emerson Ward is shocked when his friend photographer Brady "Puppy" Barnes is shot and killed. Puppy had asked Emerson to investigate some missing gems stolen from his studio and now Emerson suspects a dirty insider is responsible for both the theft and the murder. Going undercover, Emerson soon discovers a hornet's nest of suspects and more than a few motives for murder.

Freelance writer Emerson Ward is minding his own business one sweltering July day when Larry Forrester shows up at the door of his Chicago brownstone, accuses him of seducing his teenage daughter, Ellen, and tries to kill him. A week later, when Larry's ex-wife tells Emerson that Ellen has gone missing and asks him to find her, Emerson also learns that his girlfriend, Nell, is pregnant. While Nell and Emerson confront the difficult decision of whether or not to keep their baby, Emerson discovers that Ellen may have been facing the same dilemma.

After the apparent shotgun suicide of Emerson Ward's childhood friend, Lou Barrett, the Chicago freelance sleuth heads back home to Huntley, Ill., for the funeral. Emerson was planning to drive back to Chicago the afternoon of the funeral, but decides to stick around after Lou's sister, Meg Brodsky, asks him to investigate Lou's death. Danger erupts after Emerson asks too many questions about Lou's business partner, Pete Anderson, and about a shady mall development that has left many investors in hot water.