Life's a gamble. It certainly is for former jockey, Roy Gilbert as he takes the wrong line to the fi nishing post. His premature death comes to the attention of D.I. John Mahoney and the Serious Crimes Squad. The subsequent investigation very soon becomes intertwined with the gruesome slaying of a retired bookmaker. As Mahoney and his team attempt to make headway they encounter unexpected opposition from their Federal counterparts. Suspects are thin on the ground but the investigators doggedly press on in their quest to make sense of the forensic evidence. Turmoil in the personal sphere does little to help Mahoney track down the killers. The third instalment in this series turns the spotlight on the damage infl icted by the prevalence of gambling in modern Australia. Mahoney and his colleagues soon realise that the glamour is cursory and the stakes are all too high.