Watts is smoldering in ruins -- and the cops are on Easy Rawlins doorstep. Easy expects the worst, as usual. But, incredibly, theyre asking for his help. A redheaded woman known as Little Scarlet had sheltered a man during the riots. Witnesses later saw him fleeing her building; not long after, Little Scarlet was found viciously murdered. Now, with his old friend Mouse at his side, Easy follows the cases single clue across Los Angeles. The missing man is the key, but hes only the beginning.