When Garrett Asplundh's body is found under a San Diego bridge, Robbie Brownlaw is called on to the case. After the tragic death of his child and the dissolution of his marriage, Garrett—regarded as an honest, straight-arrow officer—left the SDPD to become an ethics investigator, looking into the activities of his former colleagues. At first Asplundh's death, which takes place on the eve of a reconciliation with his ex, looks like suicide, but the clues Brownlaw finds just don't add up. Amid rampant corruption and tightening city purse strings, and with pressure mounting from the police and the city's politicians, Brownlaw fights to find the truth, all the while trying to hold on to his own crumbling marriage.
A carefully woven novel of suspense, The Fallen brings to life a superb cast of characters against the all-too-real backdrop of a city fighting for its survival.