As "Void Where Prohibited" begins, Ralph is hopelessly in debt. But when his loan shark suggests the murder of Ralph's wife, Bonnie, for the insurance money, he is appalled: "He's a putz, maybe, possibly, all right, if you say so. But a criminal? A murderer? His own family?" All he can think to do is get up and storm out of the room. Nevertheless it happens. The story of how murder comes about, and what follows, is recounted in two threads that are interwoven in alternate chapters. One thread traces the crime: the automobile collision that changes Ralph's mind, the criminal investigation,...