"Blue on blue, heartake on heartacke." Song lyrics

In the politically connected Los Angeles Police Department, a retired cop who had a good reputation is murdered. Since the man's father was a retired captain on the force, the assistant chief wants Lt. Frank Duffy to put his best homicide detective on the case.

Duffy tells him that his best man, Ash Levine, quit a year ago after a dispute when one of his witnesses was killed.

He's told to get Levine back and assign him to the case as the primary investigator.

Ash had been itchy to get back on the job. The old case where his witness was murdered, still bothers him and he wants to resolve the retired cop's killing so he could work on his former investigation.

The author, Miles Corwin, has developed a very strong character in Levine. The character enjoys Chinese culture and food, has the proper dinner with his mother on Friday nights and is a man of strong principles.

When Levine was age nineteen, he wanted to do something for his family heritage. He notes that he grew up in a home where he imagined listening to the screams of dozens of relatives killed by the Nazie's. As a result, he goes to Israel and joins the Israeli Defense Forces.

The enjoyable story has him moving back to his job as if he never left. Duffy even saved his old badge.

There is a good description of the welcome he gets or doesn't get from various members of the LAPD. He does things on his own, not knowing who to trust. He also backs up his words with a strong work ethic. In short, if there was a case the reader wanted to see solved, this is the kind of cop they would want to have working the case.