Mickey Murphy is a tough, tightfisted criminal lawyer with a seedy downtown office, a '59 Cadillac which is his pride and joy, a son at USC ('the University of Spoiled
Children') and a grasping ex-wife determined to get to Hollywood.

Mickey's troubles really begin when Ingrid, his high school sweethean, comes back into his life. She's now married to Zach Petrovitch, a self-made millionaire who
buys into Mickey's law firm and thinks he's bought Mickey too. Mickey soon finds himself falling back in love with Ingrid and at the same time being suspected
of a brutal murder.

As the glittering city simmers towards an explosion of violence, Mickey begins to feel the heat. Fast-paced, suspenseful, brilliantly observed, Violent Ward is vintage Deighton.