Eager to repent for his wealth, society detective, Zephyr Davies, agrees to assist an old friend when she asks him to look into the baffling death of her husband, one of five men found dead under very unusual circumstances in a crowded speakeasy. Assisted by his twenty-one year old Chinese friend, No Sin, Davies' investigation takes him across America in the early days of the Great Depression Though new to the United States, and still learning English, No Sin is far from a fawning sidekick. Temperamental, with a keen intellect, he is full of pride and has a biting sense of humor. Despite a lack of interest in crime, he plays a major role in unraveling the mystery by noticing things that elude the more experienced Davies. His unique abilities, however, are rivaled by Monica Marshall, Davies' ex-girlfriend, who appears unexpectedly to pursue a Machiavellian agenda of her own. Fear The Living takes many of the stereotypes of thirties' detective genre and turns them on their heads - describing what life would really be like for a wealthy white playboy, his gay Chinese associate, and his charming but borderline sociopathic Eurasian mistress in the midst of the depression where racial prejudice was commonplace and acceptable.