Hipster movie critic Ann Whitehead pushed a Hollywood murder case to a bloody climax and almost died herself. Changed foreverless stupid and more funshe has moved on to a place she knows well: the San Joaquin Valley, where her grandfathers closest friend, Joe Balch, owns the oil company that keeps one town alive.Balch gets Ann a job with the Oklahoma contractor drilling his wildcat well. Its hard work, but Ann loves both it and her crusty old boss, Emmet. Then a guy on her crew is killed by a falling hammer. Sheriffs rule it an accident but Anns LAPD squeeze, Detective Doug Lockwood, says its murder. Ann cant resist the challenge of chasing a killerand then the killer starts chasing her . . .From a writer whose first novel was praised as highly literate, exceptionally action-packed and occasionally harrowing (Chicago Tribune), this is a wild ride full of bad behavior and laughs, oil-field characters, and small-town atmosphere, starring a heroine who never does anything halfway.