When a nervous husband asks him to track down his heroin addict wife, Fred Carver learns that not every client can be trusted.

When he meets Bob Ghostly, it’s hardly the first time that Fred Carver has been asked to find a missing spouse. But Ghostly’s tale about a beautiful woman who fled for no apparent reason doesn’t quite convince Carver, who presses for more detail. Finally Ghostly admits it: His wife was beautiful, intelligent, and kind, but she was also a heroin addict. She fled their Florida home with half their savings - nearly $10,000 - and he’s afraid she’s going to put it straight into her veins.

Carver goes looking for the troubled young bride, but when she shows up on her own - terrified and looking for protection - a routine case becomes one that could prove lethal for the well-meaning PI.