From the sandbox to the grave. That's the motto of the three partners for life: Johnny Ivey, Johnny Dobbs, and Larry Stith. Together, in the mean red light district of Atlanta, they are also known as the three amigos. One for all and all for one. Newly released from jail, Larry "Sparkle" Stith wants to lead a life free of crime and violence. But his dream of reform is cut short when he is reintroduced into the street life by his former friends. Revengeful adversaries are on a mission to take over his friends' prostitution, drugs, and gambling turfs, drawing him back into the life he was trying to escape. Sparkle's lover, Beverly Johnson, is now the city's police chief. She battles her own personal demons in search of a life of peace while secretly protecting her friends and her political career. With the backdrop of Atlanta, there's a labyrinth of trickery that the friends must travel in order to keep their territory, their sanity, and even their lives.

From the upper echelons to the underbelly of the Dirty South, five kindred spirits are linked by love and devotion—and crime. The glitter and glitz of Atlanta is on full display in this exciting whodunit about a dedicated police officer with a secret: her lover is a street hustler who runs the city with his gang of pimps, drug dealers, and prostitutes. Readers couldn't get enough of crime kingpin Sparkle and his friends in L. E. Newell's Durty South Grind, and now they're back and facing down their bitter rivals, the Black Don. As they navigate a maze of deceit and mischief, Police Chief Beverly Johnson must balance her passion for her work with an unbridled love for her lifelong friends.