A rare California deluge unearths a hidden body - and a decades-old crime

Rain has spoiled Masao Masuto's vacation. For six days the storm has trapped the Zen Buddhist detective and his family inside their Los Angeles cottage. By the morning of his vacation's final day, he is so stir crazy that the call to come to work is a relief. Detective Masuto knows no better cure for boredom than a puzzling murder.

Nothing remains of the deceased man but his bones. A mudslide caused by the long, punishing storm destroyed the terrace of a Beverly Hills mansion, dislodging the swimming pool and opening a grave which had been covered for three decades. The skeleton's deep stab wound suggests a professional's hand - possibly a World War II veteran with commando training. As Masuto pries into the past, the aged murderer takes deadly steps to cover up his long-forgotten crime. The detective finds himself locked in a game of cat and mouse with a brilliant and ruthless killer.