In the neon-drenched underbelly of New York City, a high-stakes poker game at the Emperor’s Bar ends in murder when Jason, a charismatic gambler with secrets to spare, is found dead in an alley, poisoned with aconite. Detective Jeremiah Bonnemere and his relentless squad plunge into a tangled web of suspects—each a player from Jason’s final table, each with a motive as sharp as a dealer’s cut.
There’s Michael, a desperate lawyer drowning in debt; Rowland, a volatile cabbie with blood on his knuckles; Hilary, a broke musician betting his last chord; Jang Lee, a chef with mob whispers trailing him; Brenda, a Miami stripper too close to Jason’s heart; Boris, an ex-soldier whose silence screams danger; Javier, a courier carrying more than packages; Bertrand, a curator with a penchant for poisons; Doherty, a clerk hiding a razor wit; and Sidney, the grieving waitress whose love for Jason blurs the line between victim and suspect.
As the squad dissects bar webcam footage and unravels alibis, the clock ticks toward a chilling truth: the killer dealt their hand that night, and the poison was no bluff. With every frame revealing new betrayals, Jeremiah must outplay a mastermind who’s always two steps ahead—before the next card falls and the body count doubles. In this deadly game, trust is a gamble, and triumph comes at a lethal price.
