Jack Laidlaw returns in the groundbreaking series. "The Laidlaw books are like fine malt whiskey--the pure distilled essence of Scottish crime writing" (Peter May, international bestselling author).

In this second book in his monumental Laidlaw series, McIlvanney tells the tale of Eck Adamson, an alcoholic vagrant who summons Jack Laidlaw to his deathbed. Probably the only policeman in Glasgow who would bother to respond, Laidlaw sees in Eck's cryptic last message a clue to the murder of a gangland thug and the disappearance of a student. With stubborn integrity, Laidlaw tracks down a seam of corruption that runs through all levels of Glaswegian society.

"Excellent... McIlvanney, the undisputed grandfather of tartan noir, gives reader a complex, existential hero struggling to right myriad wrongs."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The good news is that Laidlaw is back."--The Observer