It's 1918. Boston. A city in turmoil as soldiers return home from World War One, bringing with them an epidemic of Spanish influenza. Danny Coughlin is the son of one of Boston's most powerful police captains. An undercover cop, he is hunting for revolutionaries and anarchists who, in the aftermath of war, are pledged to overthrow the city's ruling classes. But Danny soon finds his ideals compromised as, drawn into the conflict, his family starts to question where his loyalties really lie. Luther Lawrence is on the run. Having survived a murderous confrontation with a crime boss, he lands a job in the Coughlin household. But it isn't long before his dangerous past and his tenuous present are on a life-threatening collision course. As the city goes into meltdown, Danny and Luther must confront the storm of violence that threatens to engulf them if each is to survive...

丹尼斯•勒翰（Dennis Lehane）

1994年，以硬派偵探小說《戰前酒》齣道，開創瞭“派崔剋與安琪”私探係列小說。五年內拿下美國推理界夏姆斯奬、安東尼最佳創作奬、貝瑞小說奬、戴利斯奬、馬薩諸塞州最佳小說奬等多項重要大奬。

勒翰的作品一直都備受好萊塢的青睞。2001年，根據《神秘河》改編的同名電影獲得奧斯卡大奬；2007年，根據“派崔剋與安琪”係列第四部改拍成的同名電影《失蹤的寶貝》再度被評論界廣為看好，並獲得奧斯卡最佳女配角提名；2010年，作品《隔離島》又被改編成電影上映，並創下瞭近3億美元的高票房收入。

《命定日》是勒翰的轉型之作，這部具有濃厚史詩色彩的社會小說，使他突破瞭之前隻創作懸疑小說的界限。