MP3 Audio Sample
Short Synopsis
Two lives spiral into a fatal pas de deux during a weekend of sex, alcohol, and violence—from the acclaimed author of the Harlem Detectives series. Contains mature themes.
Full Synopsis
Two lives spiral into a fatal pas de deux during a weekend of sex, alcohol, and violence—from the acclaimed author of the Harlem Detectives series
Jesse Robinson and Kriss Cummings once shared a passionate weekend in Chicago, but it's been years since they've seen each other. Jesse, a black writer, refuses to pen the inspirational novel his agent wants, and sits in his Harlem tenement as his career plummets accordingly. Kriss, a white divorcée, has found moderate success at her office job, but is disillusioned with life. Often sleeping with black men, she's pilloried for "solving the Negro Problem in bed." Each of them lonely and embittered by the racial tensions of McCarthy-era America, they reunite for a whiskey-soaked weekend in 1952, spiraling into a violent, malicious pas de deux that is fated to end in destruction.
Contains mature themes.
Author Chester Himes
Narrated by Ron Butler
Publication date Feb 24, 2026
Running time 8 hrs
Available Formats
audio download