John Dortmunder strikes it unlucky again when he gets a visit from an old cellmate, Tom Jimson. During Jimson's long stretch in the pen, the State of New York decided to turn a certain valley near Albany into a reservoir and it just so happens that the loot from Tom's last bank job was buried in that valley. Now the cash is under fifty feet of water and Dortmunder has to find a way to retrieve it -- or else Tom will dynamite the reservoir dam and flood the countryside. One botched attempt follows another, and Jimson's blasting finger is getting mighty itchy. Will Dortmunder muddle through?

"Worth reading of the characters alone, particularly the young computer genius" (B-O-T Editorial Review Board)