Substantial Justice chronicles the 1985 misadventures of Spider Lacey, a laconic Citroen mechanic, and Siobhan Mollenkopf, a lawyer who has reappeared in Spider's life after a ten-year hiatus. Things start well, then devolve when Spider's best friend, a marijuana grower and controversial talk-show host, is murdered. Spider and Siobhan spiral into a world of white supremacists, political activists, lumber tycoons, motorcycle gangs, early online geeks, tree-spikers and law enforcement. The terrain is San Francisco, Mendocino County, New York City, and Arizona. A cross between Carl Hiaasen and E. L. Doctorow, Substantial Justice is a comic thriller and a surprising love story that delights in the vicissitudes of the era.