In the shadows of a 1930s Chicago skyscraper, mining investigator Clifford Carson is used to uncovering fraudulent schemes, but nothing prepares him for the arrival of the flashy Jake Jennings and his bizarre quest for a Zuri snake. What sounds like a simple hunt for a missing reptile is actually a high-stakes race to recover a stolen $20,000 gold note—a fortune that has been ingeniously hidden within the layers of a common desk blotter.As Carson’s future brother-in-law, Cary, faces a prison sentence for embezzlement, and the ruthless Matthias Smock moves to seize the Desmond family’s valuable Outer Ravenswood estate, the mystery of the snake becomes the family’s only hope for salvation. From the dim importing shops of Chinatown to the high-society mansions of Astor Street, Carson must navigate a labyrinth of coded messages and “man-trap” safe designs to stay one step ahead of those lurking in the dark.The tension reaches a breaking point when an ingenious lethal safe is put to the ultimate test against the mysterious Madame Mercedes. In a world where a single broken ring on a snake’s back is the difference between wealth and ruin, Carson is about to discover that the most dangerous traps are the ones we set for ourselves—and that a long-lost ghost may be closer than he ever imagined.