In this new mystery set in the Patty Hearst era of radical black nationalism and political abductions, a black ex-boxer self-named Uhuru Nolica, the leader of a revolutionary cell called Scorched Earth, has kidnapped Rosemary Goldsmith, the daughter of a weapons manufacturer. If they don't receive the money, weapons, and apology they demand, "Rose Gold" will die-horribly and publicly. So the FBI, State Department, and the LAPD turn to Easy Rawlins, the one man who can cross the necessary borders to resolve this dangerous stand-off.