Joe copp's heard all the jokes about his name. He's hurting a lot of things. Things you wouldn't believe. Things they edit out of the late night news. Joe walks on the hard side. By choice, Joe is a tough guy. Not mean... tough. Has to be in his line of work. Especially now. A pretty young thing came to him too late to save her life. Then her roommate. A crew ugly death. Now Joe's got a case and no client, digging up answers and stepping over Corpses, from night time LA to the sex bars of honolulu, and league with Chinese Vice lord, in love with the beautiful, dangerous woman, in Dutch with some sadistic cops and a kinky politician, and in line for a more slab of his own. The hard side. It's murder.