Mal Townley is a failed, small-town private investigator who is on the verge of throwing in the towel when a baffling case comes his way: the disappearance of the enigmatic Iris Black, an eccentric, young novelist and author of The Days of Wine. Everyone Mal contacts about Iris has an opinion about her; however, no one seems to have a picture of her. The only likeness available is in the form of a beguiling painting titled: "Black Iris"--that seems to cast a spell over its admirers. Mal breaks the first rule in the P.I. handbook: never fall in love with the subject of your investigation--which also happens to be the recipe for a bizarre, rollicking, psychological mystery.