A study of the architectures of the systems that provide telephone service, including a look at architectures for future systems. It describes the hardware and software of five different systems in detail, offering communications professionals the information they need to understand switching systems in historical context and in relation to regulatory frameworks. The book also examines how factors such as customer services and modern computer applications have affected switching systems, and it provides background discussions on relevant theory and boundary conditions - such as transmission systems, telephone operation, and the human element.

Herman Jackson is a former bookie and small-time racketeer from Detroit trying to live down his shady past by running a legitimate bail bond business in St. Paul, but it is January, and definitely the winter of his discontent. Somebody has used his name and license without his consent, or even knowledge, to bail out a vicious killer who immediately disappears. The only solid lead Jackson has is a laptop computer found in the killer's apartment which contains details of vicious crimes, past and future.