Darren Musial

The most action Max Deacon sees these days is at Dougie’s Pool Hall, where he keeps the tournaments fair and breaks up fights among players.

Then, on a night like any other, Sharon—a single mother and waitress—asks Max to accompany her to a hotel in downtown Chicago for protection. Despite her playful flirting, Max senses that something is wrong. He ignores the warning bells and agrees to be his friend’s knight in shining armor.

At the hotel, Sharon is on edge. She orders Max to appear menacing, explaining that it’s a business deal and that she doesn’t want to look vulnerable. Against his better judgment, Max stays behind in the bar while Sharon attends her mystery appointment.

She returns upset, but they leave without incident. The next day, however, Max is shocked to learn that four people at the hotel were shot, three of them fatally, and that Sharon’s been arrested for murder. Max doesn’t think his friend could commit such a heinous act, but why was she at the scene of the crime? With tips from his brother, a homicide detective, he embarks on a dangerous quest to discover the truth—and hopefully clear Sharon’s name.