Sean "NMI" (No Middle Initial) Sean, a short Minneapolis private detective, is approached by a woman of obvious quality who says she needs help. He briefly shrugs off the incident, but later learns her name is Magda Bryce when the police summon him to the morgue to identify her body. After being assaulted in his home and warned to stay away from the Bryce family, Sean goes on the offensive. Upon finding out that an unnamed detective has been asking questions about him, Sean's first move is to confront the senior partner of a law firm, Ephraim Harcourt Saint Martin, to satisfy himself that Saint Martin was unaware of Magda's visit. Two nights later, Sean gets another call for help, but arrives too late to help another woman from the household of Preston Bryce, an important lawyer in the Saint Martin firm, and the former husband of Magda Bryce. Sean discovers evidence that Magda and perhaps others in the household have apparently been engaging in bondage and other practices. Sean visits a dominatrix in the interest of research, and he and his masseuse, Catherine Mckerney, whom he is developing a serious interest in, both survive an assassination attempt. As he digs deeper into a tangled web of perversion, faithlessness, and distrust, Sean Sean is as sure as his Keds are red that he will get to the bottom of the mysterious murders, one way or another.Carl Brookins resides in Minnesota.