A former criminal lawyer is getting his life back together and now spends his days as a part-time investigator, debt collector, apprentice cabinet maker, punter and finding those who don't want to be found - dead or alive. When an ex-client wants his help, he lets it pass away. But then this guy turns up dead which forces him back into the ominous past he thought he left for good.—revamp21

Jack Irish, criminal lawyer at Greer-Irish, is set adrift after a former client murders his wife, Isabel. Disenchanted with the dregs he was called to represent, Irish takes up alternate activities and avocations. By day, Irish visits his favorite relics at Prince of Prussia; many nights see Irish with an elderly neighbor learning how to handcraft wood furniture. Irish and two pals buy a racehorse and Irish begins skip tracing and doing more hands-on forms of debt collection. An old client tries to telephone Irish and turns up dead; Irish meets a cool blonde journalist who helps him solve this and a few other mysteries that present.—LA-Lawyer