New York, NY: Simon and Schuster (2000)

Uncorrected Proof. Signed.

Fine in decorated wrappers.

Earl Swagger is tough as hell -- but even tough guys have their secrets. Haunted by the brutal campaigns of the Pacific and plagued by the memory of his abusive father, Earl is a courageous lawman of absolute integrity -- and overwhelming melancholy. Now he's about to face his biggest, bloodiest challenge yet.

It is the summer of 1946, when American justice seems to have gone to seed for good, and nowhere is this more true than in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the reigning capital of corruption. When the DA vows to bring down the mob, Earl is recruited to run the show. Caught between his duty and the emerging truth about his own father, can he survive another war with his body and soul intact?