Curtis Colt did not kill that liquor store woman, and that is a fact. It's not right that he should have to ride the lightning - that's what prisoners call dying in the electric chair. Curtis doesn't belong in it, and I can prove it.' But can Curtis's girlfriend prove it? Murder has undoubtedly been done, and if Curtis doesn't ride the lightning for it, then who will? These seven short stories, by well known writers such as Dashiel Hammett, Patricia Highsmith, and Nancy Pickard.