V. I. Warshawski is hired to find out who may be sneaking into a vacated suburban mansion. Geraldine Graham, the home's former owner who still lives nearby, claims she's seen lights in the attic at night. V.I. suspects this is simply a bid by the wealthy dowager for attention, but agrees to do some nocturnal prowling - only to stumble across the body of a dead black journalist, Marcus Whitby. Digging deeper, V.I. learns that Whitby was doing research for a book about an African-American dancer and anthropologist. Why was Whitby killed? And is there any connection between this murder and the disappearance of an Egyptian dishwasher, or the recent demise of a right-wing attorney?