A private eye is catapulted on to a continent-hopping journey that proves difficult to escape
'A masterpiece... A vintage tale of adventure' Daily Telegraph
'Swing bands, spies and surreal danger... A wild ride' i Paper
'Brilliant fun... Rollicking' Washington Post
Milwaukee, 1932. Private eye Hicks McTaggart gets sent out on what should be a routine case, locating and bringing back the heiress of a Wisconsin cheese fortune who's taken a mind to go wandering.
By the time Hicks catches up with her in Hungary he will find himself also entangled with Nazis, Soviet agents, British counterspies, swing musicians, outlaw motorcyclists, and the troubles that come with each of them.
Surrounded by history he can't see his way around in or out of, the only bright side for Hicks is it's the dawn of the Big Band Era and he's a pretty good dancer. Whether this will be enough to allow him to Lindy-hop his way back again to Milwaukee, and the normal world, is another question.
'Late Pynchon at his finest' Los Angeles Times
'So alive, so pleasurable' Megan Nolan
'Grabs you by the collar' New York Times
Paperback / softback | 352 pages | Published October 2026
