A New York socialite climbs the ladder of success man by man until a life among rich gangsters gives her what she thought she always wanted.

The murder of gangster Nick Prenta touches off an investigation of mysterious socialite Lorna Hansen Forbes, who seems to have no past, and has now disappeared. In flashback, we see the woman's anonymous roots; her poor working-class marriage, which ends in tragedy and her determination to find "better things." Soon finding that sex appeal is her only salable commodity, she climbs from man to man toward the center of a nationwide crime syndicate...a very perilous position.—Rod Crawford <[email protected]>

A land surveyor discovers the body of a notorious gangster out in the Palm Springs desert, setting off a police investigation that turns up one very surprising fact. The gangster was somehow connected to the New York socialite, Lorna Hansen Forbes. Where is she? The last place they would think to look is near an oil field in the modest home of two old folks. It seems the mysterious Miss Forbes has a secret past; these poor old folks are her parents. In a flashback, we learn that Miss Forbes was once Ethel Whitehead, a poor wife who wanted something more out of life and abandoned her husband to get it. A new career selling cigars in an office lobby leads to something better: modeling dresses. That leads to her meeting a meek accountant. And he becomes the first rung on her ladder to success, which means climbing down into the underworld and meeting rich gangsters, who are able to give her everything she has ever wanted - or thought she did.—J. Spurlin