Fearless Jones (abridged)

Paris Minton is minding his own business when a beautiful woman named Elana Love walks into his bookstore. Within the next 24 hours, Paris has been beaten up, made love to, shot at, robbed, and his bookstore has been burned to the ground. He's in so much trouble he has no choice but to get his friend Fearless Jones out of jail to help.

Fearless Jones is an army veteran, a man who is proud of his accomplishments during World War II and refuses to step into the background now that the war is over. Violence dogs Fearless' every step, and Paris has tried to keep his distance. But there's no friend like the one you need.

The two set out to find the elusive Elana Love, and every step leads them deeper into a bewildering vortex of money and betrayal. These two black men in 1950s Los Angeles have few rights, little money, and no recourse under attack. But they have their friends, their wits, and their knowledge of the way the world really works to help them prevail.