Ensconced in his sweltering fifth floor walk-up, washed-up celebrity ghostwriter Stewart "Hoagy" Hoag is making progress on what he hopes will be his long-awaited second novel. When his ex-wife Merilee offers her home for Hoagy's use while she's shooting on location, hope blossoms that he might finally get some real work done—and solidify their rekindling romance. Scoring a meeting with ruthless editor Sylvia James, Hoagie is offered a contract for his book, in exchange for tracking down Tommy O'Brien, a fellow ghostwriter who hoodwinked Sylvia's father. With claims of a mugging, a stolen manuscript, and three murders, now it's up to Hoagy and his Bassett hound sidekick Lulu to unravel their 11th case, a follow-up to The Man Who Couldn't Miss.