Says Joe R. Lansdale in his introduction: "Fires That Destroy is like so many of the best noir novels, the sort where you see the main character climb on a fast train with a straight track and no detours, even though like all noir characters of this sort, they should be able to look far enough ahead to realize that the track falls off into an abyss."

She was the victim of her own lust and greed

Bernice, a young secretary living in New York, is frustrated by the fact that the pretty girls in her company get all the promotions.

When she discovers that her blind boss has hidden away a large amount of cash, she decides that money will be her ticket to the life she desires.

But by bringing death to one man so that she can live with another, she finds herself married to the devil.