August, 1968, Chicago: After fleeing Memphis along with Jimmy, a ten-year-old boy who witnessed the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and who is now posing as his son, Smokey Dalton has landed in Chicago, hoping that he and Jimmy can put the past behind them and start a new life.They spent the summer looking over their shoulders, but finally feel like they have escaped; Smokey is looking for a place for them to live and a way to set up shop helping people solve problems-a sort of unlicensed p.i. business-like he did in Memphis.But as the city gears up for the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Smokey begins to fear that their secret has been revealed.There are strangers in the neighborhood, and Smokey can't shake the feeling he's being watched.Even when a young neighbor boy goes missing, Smokey can't foresee the true nature of the violence and chaos about to enter their lives just as the racial tension builds and the city reaches its own breaking point.With the Edgar Award-nominated A Dangerous Road, Kris Nelscott launched an atmospheric series of p.i. novels set during one of the most turbulent times of our recent past. Now, Nelscott's gripping account of the days leading up to the convention reveal a country in transition and a detective poised to play a central role in events of lasting significance for him, and his nation. AUTHORBIO: Kris Nelscott lives on the Oregon coast, where she's working on the next Smokey Dalton novel.The first Smokey Dalton novel, A Dangerous Road, was shortlisted for the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 2000.