The owner of the Palisades Club has just been murdered, and there's a score of suspects to choose from.

The club's star, a beautiful and soulful singer, bore the brunt of the victim's jealous wrath, but she was on stage at the time of the murder. A sleazy local mobster had his hooks into the victim and an old score to settle, but has a solid rebuttal for every accusation. A gorgeous but hostile socialite had been spurned in her bid to buy and transform the club, but has a trustworthy witness who can vouch for her innocence.

Throw in an overworked waitress with a secret vice, a snarky bartender who confesses in jest, and an aging pianist with more to his past than he lets on, and it's enough to baffle even the best detective.

But that detective, P.I. Thomas James, has a trick to play too . . .