Stephen R. Donaldson is one of America's acclaimed storytellers. But in the 1980s, he published three novels about private investigators Mick Axbrewder and Ginny Fistoulari, as paperback originals under the pseudonym "Reed Stephens." In 2001, Tor published a fourth novel about these characters, The Man Who Fought Alone, this time in hardcover under Donaldson's own name. Now Donaldson has returned to the first three novels in the sequence, rewriting and expanding them. The Man Who Killed His Brother was the first, and this is the second of the three.

Mick "Brew" Axbrewder is a P.I. who's seen better days. Deeply into alcoholism, some time back, he accidentally shot and killed a cop. Worse, the cop turned out to be his brother. Even worse, in a case not long after that, his partner Ginny Fistoulari blew off her own left hand, protecting him and others.

Now Mick works mostly as hired muscle for Ginny. They don't talk much. But their latest client's story doesn't add up. They're going to have to start working better together. And Brew's going to have to face some of his own worst fears.