Collected here for the first time anywhere are the author?s 20 finest stories, including his Edgar-winning The Home Front, about death and repentance during World War II; the Shamus Award finalist Nobody Wins, about a brutal gangland enforcer searching for the woman he loves; and year?s-best selections such as A Bar Called Charley?s, about a traveling salesman?s most grueling night on the road. From Brazil at Carnival to Times Square, from Tijuana, Mexico to history?s first gunshot in 11th-century China, Ardai will take you to some of the most dangerous places in the world and the darkest corners of the human heart.