A tour de force crime novel from one of the international masters of the form, where a simple murder case questions the simple notions of good and evil, guilt and redemption. A body has been found on a Central Tokyo riverbank, and Homicide Detective Godai of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is assigned to investigate. The victim is identified as a lawyer, Kensuke Shiraishi, and Godai's investigations lead him to one Tatsuro Kuraki, who ends up confessing to not only to the lawyer's murder, but also another one from thirty years ago - for which another man was arrested and died in custody before trial. Kuraki's confession neatly resolves two cases, but there is just one problem: Detective Godai doesn't believe him. What's more, there are two other people who can't accept Kuraki's confession. One is the son of Kuraki, the professed murderer; the other is the daughter of Shiraishi, the victim.