One Good Deed

It"s 1949. When war veteran Aloysius Archer is released from Carderock Prison, he is sent to Poca City on parole with a short list of do"s and a much longer list of don"ts: do report regularly to his parole officer, don"t go to bars, certainly don"t drink alcohol, do get a job--and don"t ever associate with loose women.

The small town quickly proves more complicated and dangerous than Archer"s years serving in the war or his time in jail. Within a single night, his search for gainful employment--and a stiff drink--leads him to a local bar, where he is hired for what seems like a simple job: to collect a debt owed to a powerful local businessman, Hank Pittleman.

Soon Archer discovers that recovering the debt won"t be so easy. The indebted man has a furious grudge against Hank and refuses to pay; Hank"s clever mistress has her own designs on Archer; and both Hank and Archer"s stern parole officer, Miss Crabtree, are keeping a sharp eye on him.

When a murder takes place right under Archer"s nose, police suspicions rise against the ex-convict, and Archer realizes that the crime could send him right back to prison . . . if he doesn"t use every skill in his arsenal to track down the real killer.