Eight girls died at the hands of a psychopath armed with a deadly ice-pick and though nine years have passed the killer has not been brought to justice. Matt Scudder - an ex-cop, a bit too fond of bourbon, who does favours for friends when the officials lose interest in difficult criminal investigations - is hired to track the maniac down. But following a trail a decade cold is likely to mean that the killer is either long gone or long dead. Or perhaps just very patiently awaiting an opportunity to make his next stab in the dark.
