In this crime prequel, two crime writers team up for the first ever case of D.I. Laidlaw, Glasgow's original gritty detective. William McIlvanney's Laidlaw books changed the face of crime fiction. When McIlvanney died in 2015, he left half a handwritten manuscript of Laidlaw's first case behind. Ian Rankin has finished what McIlvanney started. Lawyer Bobby Carter did a lot of work for the wrong kind of people. When his body is found behind a pub known to be under the protective wing of a local crime boss, the fragile equilibrium that has been keeping Glasgow relatively safe is shattered. DC Jack Laidlaw's boss chalks Carter's death up to the usual rivalries. As two Glasgow gangs go to war, Laidlaw knows he needs to find Carter's killer before the whole city explodes. -- Adapted from book jacket.