In this crime prequel, two crime writers team up for the first ever case of D.I. Laidlaw, Glasgow's original gritty detective who is standing in the midst of gangs, organized crime bosses, crooked politicians, corrupt police and innocent battlers caught in the crossfire. Lawyer Bobby Carter did a lot of work for the wrong kind of people. When his body is found behind a pub known to be under the protective wing of a local crime boss, the fragile equilibrium...

"Growing up in a Glasgow community haunted by Ireland's Troubles and religious divides, young Stevie finds his precarious family stability and sense of self threatened by his father's marching band's loyalist paramilitary ties." --

"A small-time crook is murdered in Glasgow and under his bed police find newspaper clippings of an abduction for which ransom was paid but the victim is still missing. Inspector Donoghue investigates." --

A motorcyclist killed during a robbery leads Detective Superintendent Colin Thane to a multi-million dollar videotape pirating racket.

The sequel to the author's The Good Provider, this novel follows Kirsty and Craig Nicholson deeper into the mean streets of late-Victorian Glasgow.