John D. MacDonald’s The Deep Blue Good-by introduces Travis McGee, the iconic hard-boiled detective and self-described beach bum living aboard the houseboat Busted Flush in Fort Lauderdale.

When McGee is asked by Cathy, a desperate young woman, to recover a fortune stolen by her manipulative ex-boyfriend Junior Allen, he is drawn into a dangerous pursuit that reveals Allen’s trail of emotional devastation and violence against vulnerable women. As McGee nurses the shattered Lois Atkinson back to health, he uncovers the depths of Allen’s cruelty and the dark secrets behind the stolen treasure, setting up a tense game of cat and mouse in the sun-soaked but treacherous world of postwar Florida.

MacDonald’s masterful storytelling and sharp cultural observations make this noir classic a gripping and timeless exploration of justice, morality, and the cost of heroism.