'Nothing Vollmann has done before approaches the wild ambition of this book...this is exactly the kind of storytelling the novel was invented for.' San Francisco Chronicle Henry Tyler is a failing PI in San Francisco. When the woman he loves commits suicide, he clings despairingly to her ghost. Struggling to turn grief and guilt into something precious, he employs his professional skills to track down the 'Queen of the Prostitutes' - a figure also being sought by his brother but for very different reasons. Vivid and unforgettable.