'Ramón had done it. Obviously! He thought about Ramón, his Catholic soul trapped in his passion for Lelia. He'd find Ramón and see that he paid with his life for what he had done.'

Hot-tempered Ramón was born into poverty in Mexico City; mild-mannered Theo is a wealthy German expatriate. The two men are unlikely friends - especially as they are in love with the same woman. When Lelia is found brutally murdered, both lovers are suspects - and each suspects the other. Until they discover that a thief was seen at Lelia's apartment, and seize on the possibility that he is the murderer. Their hunt leads them on a frantic chase to sun-drenched Acapulco, and to a colonial town where Theo gets the uneasy feeling that his every move is being watched.

'Highsmith is a giant of the genre. The original, the best, the gloriously twisted Queen of Suspense' Mark Billingham
'One closes most of her books with a feeling that the world is more dangerous than one had ever imagined' Julian Symons, New York Times Book Review