New York City, November 1845. When onetime actor Miles DeShays quits the police force after an awkward stint as Inspector of Junk Shops, no one imagines that he'll soon return. His uncle, an influential alderman who secured him the job, plans to employ him in the family iron foundry, a prospect DeShays dreads. But when a grisly murder occurs, a slippery cast of characters from his past compels him to investigate the police department's handling of the case from the inside. If he fails, an innocent man will hang.