The next case in the practice of a private detective from Boston, Patrick Kenzie, looked very easy: to intimidate a scoundrel who was pestering a young woman. Which he, with the help of his constant friend and ally, the thug Bubba Rogowski, does with great pleasure. Such nice and decent girls as Karen Nichols, he argues, should not suffer from the impudence of any narcissistic impudents. Only a few months later, Patrick is shocked to learn that while he was away, Karen Nichols committed suicide by throwing herself headfirst from the Boston Customs House high-rise building. And before that, as it turned out during the investigation, she was repeatedly detained by the police for alcohol and drug abuse and prostitution. Patrick is perplexed: he couldn’t have been so mistaken about Karen’s identity. He won't rest until he finds out what happened to her. Together with him, Angie Gennaro, with whom Patrick has long been hopelessly in love, will unravel the strange mystery of Miss Nichols's suicide.