A wealthy man is murdererd and, surprise, an innocent man is arrested. If you've seen one Spenser, you've seen them all.

A girl comes to Boston looking for her estranged father. Spenser decides to help her.

Spenser and Hawk protect a man who owes money to men of dubious ethics. When their client, Bo Braxton tries to blackmail his creditors, he and his alcoholic teenage daughter go on the run.

Spenser loses all feeling in his right arm after he's shot while guarding a politician.

A prison inmate with a grudge against Hawk hires outside muscle to rub him out.

A cop who helped send a gangster's son to prison years ago has been hiding, cause the gangster wants to get him. But now he wants to come home, so he and his father, asks Spenser to act as intermediary. While the gangster is unwilling to settle for nothing less than seeing him dead. Spenser tries to see what he can do. At the same time Spenser has to deal with Susan, who came back to town, and would like to see if they have a future, but this case is taking up all of his time.

Lt. Quirk faces his mortality when he suffers a heart attack. Spenser and Hawk protect him from revenge-minded villains as he recovers.

Susan is in trouble when her claims of sexual harassment lead her college counselor to retaliate by hiring a hit man to keep her quiet. Spenser gets arrested for getting involved in a fight.

Spenser protects an old friend, Arthur, after he's assaulted and robbed. In the course of his investigation, Spenser comes across disturbing information connecting Arthur with racketeering.

One of Spenser's old trainers lures Spenser to a deserted warehouse where Spenser is supposed to be killed, to get out from under a gambling debt. Spenser survives, then turns around and protects his trainer from the goons now after him.

Spenser protects a child artist after the child witnesses a mob execution while painting in the forest.