Prequel to Dashiell Hammett's crime classic "The Maltese Falcon". It's 1921: Spade sets up his own agency in San Francisco, and soon takes on a partner, Archer, even though he stole Spade's girl while he was away fighting in WWI. 'Gores has not only pulled off the Herculean task of writing a prequel to "The Maltese Falcon" but also created a rip-roaring yarn of his own' "Publisher's Weekly"