When Jack Hammer finds his very first client, Yasa Cvito, beaten to death and floating in her own bathtub, he fears that his fledgling career as a private investigator might be over before it can even get started. Murders like this command attention, and a single skewed article in the local newspaper could kill his reputation. The police and FBI warn him to stay clear of the case—to let sleeping dogs lie—even as a cryptic message bearing his name makes that impossible: “Bring me Cvito device or lady will end up like Yasa. Saturday. No policeman.”

But what is a Cvito device? Who is the lady they’re threatening? And how is it all connected to Yasa? Jack searches desperately for her missing uncle, Bosko, who may have the answers.

Chasing clues through basement pool halls and the downtown cafes of post-World War II Salt Lake City, Jack tracks Bosko to Bingham, a nearby mining town and home to one of the largest copper mines in the world. But as time runs down, Jack makes a bombshell discovery—a revelation that only pulls him deeper into a shadowy mix of Russian spies, FBI obstruction, and quite possibly the best idea that Nikola Tesla ever had.