Bill Shannon never wanted to do anything but play the horses ever since his grandfather took him to the race track in 1955. It was a family tradition. When his grandfather died, he abandoned thoughts of glory and entered the mainstream of American existence. He got married and went to California. He became an educator. He played golf. Life was good. Then the love of his life suddenly died and death, once again, changed everything. He went back to Chicago; back to the racetrack in the hope it would fill the hole in his soul. There, he met a fellow traveler and horseplayer; an ex-Chicago cop named Ranger. The horses and the game began its healing magic until a mutual friend of theirs got mugged and was put into a coma. Ranger demanded justice and insisted they track down the assailant. Shannon resisted. He didn't want anything more to do with violence. Too many bad memories. Too much guilt. It took is childhood rival and nephew of one of his grandfather's friends who finally pushed him into the jungle of Chicago corruption, blackmail and murder. In the process, Billy Six is born and his world will never be the same. First in the series