Father Malone has disappeared.

That would be bad enough, even before Frank Mercer learns the priest owes money to Nicky Two-Toes, a debt collector with fewer toes than patience.

The job sounds simple.

Find the priest.
Collect the money.
Stay out of the church’s business.

But nothing in New Alderidge stays simple for long.

Malone is mixed up with Evelyn Marquette, a red-haired woman with old money, sharp perfume, and a smile that knows exactly what men want before they do.

Then gunmen snatch Malone off the street.

His office at St. Augustine’s is ransacked.

And a sacred relic, the Halo of Saint Lucius, is missing from the wall.

Now Frank is trapped between dirty cops, mob families, a stolen relic, and a debt that will be paid in blood or faith.