A corpse found in a hotel room appears to be that of a missing LAPD narcotics officer. Rumours abound that the cop had crossed over - selling a new drug called Black Ice that had been infiltrating LA from Mexico - and the LAPD brass are quick to declare his death a suicide.

Detective Harry Bosch isn't so sure.

Prompted by odd, inexplicable details from the crime scene - and an undeniable attraction to the cop's widow - Bosch starts his own maverick investigation. The trail will soon lead him over the border to Mexicali and into a dangerous labyrinth of shifting identities and deadly corruption.