The time is 1953. The world has changed. Richard Curtis Van Loan has beenforced to hang up his mask. But The Phantom Detective is drawn out of retirementby the sudden murder of his longtime friend, publisher Frank Havens; and mustthen face the greatest challenge in his long career, as he finds himself pursuedand hounded by a vicious, unseen assailant, "The Phantom's Phantom." The hot,sunny hills of Southern California present a very different problem from thecold, dark-edged streets of the Big Apple. As the bodies begin piling up, VanLoan is driven to the very limit of his resources. Who is The Phantom'sPhantom?