Benjamin Smoke is a retired police lieutenant who walked away from teh job fo rone reason alone: he was bored. Bored of the criminals. Bored of the crimes. Bored of answers that came too easy, too fast, and too often the same. Now, working as an unlicensed private detective, Smoke finally gets his wish. Someone has committed the perfect crime -- a perfectly senseless crime -- by stealing a dead body. And when Smoke starts investigating he's in for one surprise after another, from black magic to murder and a woman who believes she's Cleopatra -- and is lighting a fire right before Smoke's eyes...