Loan shark Chili Palmer didn't say anything when Ray Bones stole his leather jacket from Vesuvio's in Miami. He just went to Ray's house, broke his nose, took the jacket, and left. Twelve years later, on account of his boss getting whacked, Chili finds himself working for Bones and ordered to collect on a bad debt from Leo Devoe, a guy who died in a plane crash. But it turns out Leo isn't dead; he's in Las Vegas with the $300,000 the airline paid to his wife. So Chili follows him to Vegas and then on to Hollywood, where he hooks up with movie producers, actors, and studio execs. Getting Leo becomes a movie pitch unfolding in a city where every move you make is a potential scene, and making it big isn't all that different from making your bones: You gotta know who to pitch, who to hit, and how to knock 'em dead.

埃尔默•伦纳德（1925—2013） 美国著名作家、编剧、制片人。他从1950年代起写作，至今创作了45部著作，是全美极具影响力的畅销书作家之一，曾被美国推理作家协会（MWA）授予 “大师奖”，并被誉为“底特律的狄更斯”。 乔治•克鲁尼、昆汀•塔伦蒂诺等知名影人都是他的粉丝

埃尔默•伦纳德的作品以形态各异的角色和耐人寻味的对话著称，他的主要作品都被搬上了大银幕，包括《矮子当道》、《战略高手》、新旧两版的《决斗尤马镇》、《一酷到底》、《危险关系》等等，这些电影在好莱坞获得了巨大成功。