Climax #1

A drifter down on his luck gets approached by men with a proposition: impersonate the long-missing son of a wealthy widow to help them gain access to her fortune. After weeks of careful preparation and coaching, he pulls off the con—but living with Mrs. Lila Frazier and witnessing her genuine joy at having her "son" back begins to change everything. As his impatient partners demand he start delivering the money, the phony finds himself caught between the scheme that promised him everything and a conscience he didn't know he still had.

A man unjustly imprisoned for embezzlement vows revenge on the partner who framed him—and when a cellmate gives him a mysterious charm said to curse wrongdoers, he's tempted to put it to the test. After earning his parole, Wagner tracks down Schmidt and begins a campaign of psychological torment, but discovers that belief in the charm's power may be far more dangerous than the charm itself. "Evil Eye!" explores whether vengeance satisfies the soul, or merely poisons it.

A counterfeiter named Sal Ramon partners with an engraver known only as Jamison to produce flawless counterfeit bills, but Ramon grows greedy and schemes to steal the plates so he can keep all the profits for himself. When Ramon finally makes his move, he discovers that Jamison's artistry—his obsessive perfectionism—may be the one thing he fatally underestimated.