To begin with he was another good time drunk in a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith outside the terrace of The Dancers. A little later he turned up as a vagrant on Hollywood Boulevard. For no reason other than curiosity Philip Marlowe came to the rescue. Then he brought Terry Lennox a drink. Which may be why he finds himself driving Lennox to Tijuana on the same night his very rich wife is found with her brains all over the floor. Murderer or no murderer, Terry Lennox is shaping up to cause plenty of trouble. And trouble just happens to be Marlowes line of work ...