Fear is a man's best friend. Chili Palmer is a debt collector for the mob in Miami. But when one of his clients skips to Hollywood he decides to take a short working holiday on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Compared to the movie people, Chili is a small-time low-life. But, as the fat cats are about to discover, he is also tired of showing respect to people he thinks are scum. 'Compellingly readable...Extremely funny, bursting with sustained passages of black comedy...a major American novel' - Guardian.