Literary noir. The Austin Highway, San Antonio, Texas. Three men describe their lives in interwoven chapters: Jack Gantt, a tall handsome introvert who feels he's more observer than participant; "Cholo" Hartmann, a high school drop-out and part-time thug who straightens out to become a successful and savvy cop; Fred Klein, a small and brilliant man driven by his lust for power. Klein's dark and powerful tentacles stretch to envelop Jack, Cholo, and their families. Interludes dispersed through the novel detail more and more of the happenings on a key and fateful day on the Austin Highway....