Harry's life is a mess: his house has been condemned, his girlfriend has left him, he's drinking too much and he's had to turn in his badge after attacking his commanding officer.

The reinstatement of his badge is subject to psychiatric testing, and at first Bosch is resistant. Then he realises there's one issue underlying all the others: the brutal murder of his prostitute mother when he was eleven years old. No one was ever even accused of the crime.

As Harry opens up the old case file, he's forced to confront the demons of his past. Digging deeper, he discovers a trail of cover-ups that leads to the high-ups in the Hollywood Hills. After so long, can justice be done?