The murder of Judge Hugo Jackson is out of Detective Simon Ziele's jurisdiction. For one thing, it's high-profile enough to command the attention of the new police commissioner. For another, Simon's assigned precinct does not include tony Gramercy Park, where the judge was found. But his widow called the judge's old classmate criminologist, Alistair Sinclair, who in turn enlists Ziele's help in steering his unorthodox methods past the police force.