Meredith Nichol was found dead on the lonely train tracks behind Skid Row in Los Angeles. A transgender woman, the police suspect a hate crime. No clues have been left and they have little to go on beyond prejudice and speculation. She's quickly figured for just another lost soul and a cold case with little hope of ever thawing.After leaving behind his life in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and the terrible events which nearly killed him, Iwata has started a new life working as a private investigator in LA. He spends his days spying on unfaithful spouses and searching for missing persons, and his nights with an unavailable woman.But this uneasy peace is shattered when a voice from his past demands he find Meredith's killer. Reluctantly throwing himself back in to the dangerous existence he only just escaped, Iwata discovers a world of corruption, exploitation and murder - and a river of sin flowing through America's underbelly and deep within his own past.
