Rather than retiring, as he had been considering, Billy Summers takes one last job. It is too hard to resist, with a half-million-dollar advance and another million and a half on completion. First, he has to be sure the guy he is supposed to kill is the wrong person, which has always been required in his work as a hitman.

The plot and story are meticulously crafted, as we would anticipate. The mob boss who hires Billy Summers asks him to immerse himself in the community before the hit, assuming the role of a writer. This unexpected twist adds a layer of excitement to the narrative, as Billy's writing and his approach to it become a story within the story.

One of the intriguing plot twists is the absence of any supernatural influence in the story. However, about halfway through the book, we encounter some references to paranormal activity within a picture on a wall. Despite this unexpected turn, it does not significantly impact the larger storyline. It's almost like an advertisement for his book, “The Shinning,” as the cabin where the haunted picture hangs is across the valley from where the Overlook hotel had burned, and Billy’s friend tells him “bad stuff happened.”

The crime novel is an assigned thriller with several stories within the story and doesn’t disappoint.