This is the story of how the William Bell Detective Agency came to be. In this book Bill is a special agent for the FBI in San Francisco. He was recruited after college. We see what he does as an agent and learns of his frustrations about his job. He loves being on the side of right but isn't sure if the FBI is the right job for him. We also meet Joey his good friend and special agent who works with him on most of his cases. He meets the girl of his dreams and they are falling in love until she is killed by the criminals they are trying to catch in the act. As a result he dedicates himself to the case until the criminals are all caught. After the case is complete he is left with the doubts that haunted him in the first place until his longtime friend in Eureka convinces him to move back to Eureka and open his own agency.