In a city where the police spend their days doing nothing but breaking up drunken fights and catching small drug dealers, a series of brutal crimes are taking place. Investigating the serial murders of the city's prostitutes, disillusioned Detective Caroline Mabrey, her former mentor, passionate police theorist Detective Alan Dupree, two FBI analysts and the entire Spokane, Washington police force spend months hunting for a suspect who seems to them the embodiment of all earthly vices. . And yet, as usually happens in life, the real picture is much more complex than it seems, there are different vices, and for our own convenience we oversimplify and fit the actions of others into ready-made stencils. Jess Walter, author of “Magnificent Ruins,” National Book Award finalist and Edgar Allan Poe Award winner, his debut novel tells of a world where there are no clear boundaries between good and evil, where every crime and every cruelty has a dark side, and in principle there are no good guys and bad guys - a world the comprehension of which does not bring a person comfort, but at least allows him to ultimately make the right choice.