Ex-cons, armed robberies and scams in Miami - another classic crime thriller from the masterful Elmore Leonard.

Ex-cons, armed robberies and scams in Miami - another classic crime thriller from the masterful Elmore Leonard.

After serving time for armed robbery, Ernest 'Stick' Stickley is back on the outside and trying to stay legit. But it's tough staying straight in a crooked town - and Miami is a pirate's paradise, where investment fat cats and lowlife drug dealers hold hands and dance.

And when a crazed player chooses Stick at random to die for another man's sins, the struggling ex-con is left with no choice but to dive right back into the game. Besides, Stick knows a good thing when he sees it - and a golden opportunity to run a very profitable sweet-revenge scam seems much too tasty to pass up