Nathan Shapiro might be the gloomiest member of Manhattan's finest, but that doesn't stop the dour detective from getting the job done when the going gets tough . . . Englishman Reginald Grant readily admits that the differences between British and American culture sometimes elude him. Unfortunately, a gruesome discovery soon forces the respected poet and visiting professor to deal with an institution he has little knowledge of: the New York City Police Department. After answering questions about the young woman he found stabbed to death in the back of a cab, Grant leaves the station and considers his part in the unfortunate affair over. But when two men who claim to be with the police want to ask him a few more questions-and promptly take him hostage-Grant discovers his troubles are just beginning . . . Det. Nathan Shapiro thought the poet seemed truthful when he claimed not to know the victim, but now it's major news that Reginald Grant was actually the girl's teacher-and the man himself is missing. With a blunder to make up for, Shapiro must do his best to bring everything to a justifiable end. But there's more to this story than what's in the headlines.
