A nagging conscience makes V.I. Warshawski agree to fill in as coach for the girls' basketball team at her South Side alma mater–which in turn leads her to the headquarters of By-Smart, the global retail empire where V.I. hopes to get some desperately needed funds for the struggling squad. But conscience seems to be in short supply at By Smart…with the exception of Billy Bysen. He's the earnest teenage grandson of the chain's gruff, tight-fisted founder. And when Billy disappears–along with a mysterious document much desired by By-Smart's management team–V.I. is hurled onto a twisted, body-strewn path that runs through Chicago's dirtiest places and reveals some of its dirtiest secrets.