Los Ángeles, años cincuenta, una época fascinante llena de matices. Pornografía. Corrupción policial. Intrigas en el hampa. Un atroz asesinato colectivo se convierte en eje central de la vida de las víctimas y los verdugos. Tres policías tambaleándose en arenas movedizas: Ed Exley, sediento de gloria, capaz de violar cualquier ley con tal de eclipsar a su padre, ex policía y gran magnate. Bud White, una bomba de relojería con placa de agente, ansioso de vengar la brutal muerte de su madre. / Ellroy's ninth novel, set in 1950s Los Angeles, kicks off with a shoot-out between a rogue ex-cop and a band of gangsters fronted by a crooked police lieutenant. Close on the heels of this scene comes a jarring Christmas Day precinct house riot, in which drunk and rampaging cops viciously beat up a group of jailed Mexican hoodlums. But, as readers will quickly learn, these sudden sprees of violence, laced with evidence of police corruption, are only teasers for the grisly events and pathos that follow this intricate police procedural. Picking up where The Black Dahlia and The Big Nowhere left off, the book tracks the intertwining paths of the three flawed and ambitious cops who emerge from the ""Bloody Christmas"" affair. Dope peddling, prostitution, and other risky business are revealed as the tightly wound plot untangles. Ellroy's disdain for Hollywood tinsel is evident at every turn; even the most noble of the characters here are relentlessly sleazy. But their grueling, sometimes maniacal schemes make a compelling read for the stout of heart.