“A genre-bending cinematic novel.” —Clint Wilkins, former Encore Fellow, Mayor’s Office in San Jose

“Colorful and unforgettable.” —Barbara Kibbe, artist and Citizen Joy leader

In a time when department stores ruled downtowns, a prominent store heir is kidnapped in 1933 under suspicious circumstances, and the federal Bureau of Investigation sends unorthodox agent Louis Cooper to investigate.

Cooper discovers that this crime is only a prelude to a dangerous play by the local power structure to expand control amid spiraling economic disruption, labor unrest, and anti-immigrant racism.

As Cooper unravels long-standing but shifting alliances of business leaders, city officials, and mobsters, he learns who is behind the kidnapping and why—but not in time to prevent a raging mob bent on vengeance.