Dereliction of Devotion

San Francisco - 1940

It is two years since Jacob Butterfield hung his Private Investigator's shingle. Almost before the paint inscribing his, sadly unfinished, name on the office door was dry, he and his lover-come-business partner, Stella, were inundated with cases.

Cheating spouses, missing people, minor thefts, the list went on, along with any and all offences the various police departments deemed unworthy of their time.

Their reputation as an honest agency growing steadily, Jacob presumes things are going swimmingly in every aspect of his life until a very large spanner, in the shape of Carmine Russo, is tossed into the works.

A priceless diamond with a shady history has gone missing, and Russo's boss, its… equally shady… owner, who has no wish to involve the police, wants Butters to expose the thief.

As the investigation heats up, so does the relationship between Stella and Russo, despite Stella's vehement denials. Now, Jacob is in a race against time to find the diamond and win back his girl. Can he persuade Stella, his love hasn't faltered and that his dedication to duty was not a dereliction of devotion before Russo steals her heart?

Is this the one case Butters cannot solve?