A purse-snatching dog? This is the case Friday and Gannon must solve. Making things more difficult, victims give different descriptions of the four-legged thief.
A series of daring daylight house burglaries are taking place; perpetrated by an octegenarian who uses the wedding and obituary notices in the paper to select his victims.
Citizens are full of praise for Officer Gideon C. Dengle - they want to bestow him with awards, honors and home-baked cookies. There's only one problem: there's no such officer in the LAPD.
A Japanese widow is senselessly murdered, leaving her small daughter an orphan. Friday has a hard time controlling his emotions while seeking the killer.
Friday and Gannon investigate a scam involving a phony LAPD newsletter, which comes with a card for subscribers entitling the bearer to preferential treatment from the police.