From one of the masters of noir comes perhaps his most compelling novel. Roy Nichols is trying to make a go of running a motel with his wife, but forces are conspiring against them. The highway that was supposed to run past their motel may never get built, and their business is drying up. When Roy stumbles upon a briefcase loaded with cash, his problems seem to have miraculously disappeared. But in Gil Brewer’s world, good fortune is never free and greed inevitably leads to destruction.