A collection of stories about unscrupulous film writer Pat Hobby, a relic from the early days of Hollywood, looking for success in the changing world of the movies. Fitzgerald's collection paints a comic portrait of a man unwilling to accept his fate as a thing of the past. Entertainingly artless, insensitive, lazy and scheming, Hobby keeps his head just above water as the decades leave silent film behind.

Somebody is murdering Hollywood's A-list. FBI agent Alex Cross is on vacation in Disneyland when he gets the call. A well-known actress has been shot outside her home in Beverly Hills. Shortly afterwards, an editor for the Los Angeles Times receives an e-mail recounting the murder in shocking detail, signed Mary Smith. More killings follow, with emails immediately after. Mary Smith is targeting Hollywood stars and powerbrokers, and she is getting better every time. Right from the beginning, this case is like nothing Alex has ever confronted. People make enemies easily in Hollywood. Is this the plan of an obsessed fan or a spurned actor, or is it part of something much more terrifying? Members of the A-list fear they're Mary's next target, and the case grows into blockbuster proportions as Cross and the LAPD scramble to find a pattern before Mary can send one more chilling update.

While hitchhiking through Texas, ex-military policeman Jack Reacher is picked up by a woman in need of protection from her abusive husband, who is about to be released from prison.

Everything is going right for lifeguard Ned Kelley. He is involved with Tess, the most beautiful woman he has ever seen and what's more, a million dollars is within touching distance; his share of the score for the robbery of some world-class art. All he has to do is trigger alarms to throw the cops off the scent. But when Tess is brutally murdered and the others involved in the robbery are massacred, Ned is the prime suspect. He has been set up...

While tending to his broken-down car, Hobby, a failing writer, is mistaken by a wealthy tourist couple for a guide to the homes of movie stars. Hobby takes their money and attempts to visit the homes of some minor celebrities he is acquainted with, but the couple demand to be taken to the home of Shirley Temple. Hilarity and damn lies inevitably ensue, and Hobby finds himself, as ever, in a sticky situation once again...