Galatea — James M. Cain

Out of jail and back at work, a boxing trainer finds a woman worth fighting for

It took some doing, but Duke Webster is out of prison. Val Valenty arranged the parole, and now the onetime boxing coach is his puppet, breaking his back on Valenty's farm in exchange for a pittance. But Valenty is about to find out that boxing men never take orders without a scrap.

The trouble starts when Webster meets Valenty's wife. A barrel-shaped woman whose extreme weight makes her old before her time, Holly stays fat on Valenty's cooking -- meat, potatoes, and endless gravy. Webster puts her on a diet, slimming her down the way he would an over-the-hill pro in search of a comeback. But as her waistline shrinks and her beauty emerges, Valenty gets jealous -- putting them on course for a bloody confrontation where only the hungry will survive.