Hidden Palms

A novel by Harry Bryant

Once upon a time, Robert “Butch” Bliss was a rising star in the adult film entertainment industry. He had promise. He had talent. Everyone said he was on his way up. But he went down instead. Down for a load of cocaine that wasn’t his, in a car that wasn’t his, either. Bliss is sentenced to five years at the state correctional facility in Tehachapi, where he gets five more years following an unfortunate incident in the prison shower.

Ten years is a long time. Ten years can do a lot to sour a man, especially when he’s been dealt a round like Bliss. After he gets out of prison, what’s an ex-con, ex-porn star to do?

Well, favors, for one. No, not those kinds of favors.

When an old associate asks him to fetch a forgotten film star from a posh resort north of LA, Bliss takes the job, thinking it’ll be an easy afternoon’s worth of work. Before the weekend is over, though, he’s juggling rogue DEA agents, crazy bikers, and a double degree-wielding drug lord. And it all has something to do with a secret hidden at Hidden Palms . . .