"When an intruder with murderous intent breaks into Roger Smith's modest home one night, the big brute gets more than he bargained for, ending up a bloody corpse staining Roger's carpet. Washington, DC, Detective Grace Lillinthal is summoned to the crime scene and marvels at the outcome. Why would anyone want to kill gray-haired Roger Smith? He's the picture of an amateur painter, and a civil servant who works at the Government Publishing Office. When asked why he'd be a target, a clearly shaken Roger claims to be baffled. But instinct tells Grace there's more to Roger's story, and when she learns that Roger--after killing his home invader and before calling the police--phoned John McKenna, she knows she's onto something. John McKenna is a disreputable character of the first order. "