Detective Thomas Brannon is a violent crimes detective who drives a classic Cadillac convertible, has three ex-wives and has more domestic problems than the law allows. His partner, Samuel Esparza, is loyal to the law and to Brannon, which is not always the same thing. It's hard to keep your mind on the case when beautiful women keep finding their way into your life. When the bodies start to fall, Brannon and Esparza have all they can handle trying to keep their sleepy little beach town from turning into the suburbs of hell. Cleaned up and reasonably sober, the detectives follow a bloody trail of evidence from the Texas Gulf Coast to the hard edges of Mexico and finally into the darkness of their own souls. From Galveston to Surfside, this is a Texas story about ambitious crime lords trying to overwhelm a small beach community of working class Texans. The detectives have allies and deadly enemies. A mysterious woman holds secrets, but she has pledged her loyalty to a gangster. With the law on their side and against the odds, the detectives encounter the decent, the sexy, the psychopathic, and the deadly. Lawmen have a code and they follow the law, but sometimes money over rules over reason and justice. When our lawmen cross the line, it's always for the right reasons, but rationalizing the things you do on grounds that the ends justify the means, is a slippery slope. After all, having a conscience doesn't prevent sin; it only keeps you from enjoying it. Finally, if the rest of the plan fails, your backs against the wall and you know you're not going to get another chance . . . you set a desperate trap. If you're going to set a trap, bait it with a woman . . . you'll catch something every time.

Evaluation by a retired warden of the Reprieve Unit in Galveston