Since debuting 20 years ago, Hard Case Crime has won acclaim for publishing the best in hard-boiled crime fiction --- not least of all the work of founding editor Charles Ardai. Collected here for the first time anywhere are the author’s 20 finest stories, including his Edgar-winning “The Home Front,” about death and repentance during World War II; the Shamus Award finalist “Nobody Wins,” about a brutal gangland enforcer searching for the woman he loves; and year’s-best selections such as “A Bar Called Charley’s,” about a traveling salesman’s most grueling night on the road. From Brazil at Carnival to Times Square at midnight, from Tijuana, Mexico, to history’s first gunshot in 11th-century China, Ardai will take you to some of the most dangerous places in the world --- and the darkest corners of the human heart.