The main character in the novel New York Dead, Stone Barrington is an attractive thirty-eight-year-old detective with the New York City Police Department. Stone likes his job and has always been happy as a police officer, despite the fact that he has never really fit in at the department. The only child of parents who were born to wealth, Stone presents a well-bred persona, while the rest of the department is more of a melting pot. Despite this, Stone has done well for himself and with the help of his partner, Dino, acting as a type of buffer, he continues to do so.