Hailing from a small Northern Ontario town, Walker Devereaux, age nineteen, is in Toronto to discover the truth behind the harrowing circumstances of his early life. At age three, he was found, he was found abandoned on a country road, terrified and clinging to a wire fence. Walker finds a job driving a cab and becomes romantically involved with the night dispatcher, Krista, who helps him track down the horrific secret behind his parents' suicides. But in doing so, they comes within the deadly grasp of Bobby, a young man who has matured from early cruelty to a murderous pleasure.

James W. Nichol is best known to CBC Radio listeners as the author of two popular and long-running mystery series: "Midnight Cab" and "Peggy Delaney." He has been writing for radio, film, television, and theatre since 1964, and is the author of the critically acclaimed play Sainte-Marie among the Hurons. His 1989 radio adaptation of The Stone Angel was so successful that he wrote a stage version, which continues to be performed in theatres across Canada. This mesmerizing radio dramatization, originally released on cassette and now in a CD edition, features such well-known actors as Janet Wright, Richard Donat, and Ted Dykstra, as well as a haunting musical score.

James W. Nichol's profile page

• Short-listed, CWA Gold Dagger
• Winner, Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel

“A delightful ride.”

The Globe and Mail

“Nichol’s instincts as a playwright serve him well. The dialogue between Walker and Krista is quick and playful, and though the suspense rarely builds to Hitchcockian heights, the novel is well paced and the pages turn quickly.”

Publishers Weekly