This is a biography of little-known Missouri senator James A. Reed, who was in the running for the Democratic Partys presidential nomination in 1928 and 1932. While in the United States Senate, Reed was the leading opponent to president Woodrow Wilsons effort to have the United States join the League of Nations. During the administrations of Franklin Roosevelt, Reed was a critic of Roosevelts Neal Deal policies and gave his support to Republican presidential candidates in 1936 and 1940.

The book also presents the story of Reed, the outstanding trial lawyer in cases where he obtains remarkable results in civil damage claims, as well as various criminal cases in which he acted as prosecuting attorney or defense counsel.