Amanda Dart was known as "the High Bitch Queen". She was a powerful gossip columnist, widely feared, whose words could make or ruin anyone.

She had done so many times.  Naturally, she had made many enemies.

She had always conducted her private life in an extremely covert manner.  So she was shocked when a blackmailer put up pictures of her and her lovers in compromising situations on fax machines, where anyone who wished could view them.  These pictures affected many highly respected members of upscale Manhattan.

Dart hired Stone Barrington, ex-New York cop now lawyer and private investigator, to discover the identity of the faxer. Barrington's search took him into the rarefied world of Manhattan's beautiful people, even involving the closeted gay editor of a rival tabloid.  Barrington's investigation became grim when one of his operatives, a retired cop, was murdered.  He had many suspects among the rich and famous where he had fought many a cover-up before. In an abrupt and stunning denouement, he discovered the truth.

Dirt is a sophisticated, fast moving story.  It is filled with characters of the rich and famous beautiful people.  The plot is filled with conflicts leaving the reader in suspense.   The view of gossip columnists and tabloids is an intriguing one.