In 1943, during the height of World War II, an event occurred in Boone County, Kentucky, that put the war news on page two from August 17 until the 21st. The headlines throughout the nation focused on a murderous rampage that took place at Rosegate, the sprawling summer home of the politically ambitious Vice-Mayor of Covington, Kentucky. Carl Kiger and his six-year-old son, Jerry, were brutally shot fifteen times while Jennie, his wife, was critically wounded. When the 15 year old daughter, Joan, unharmed by the incident, is arrested, the lives of Mafia hit men, small town officials, and prominent attorneys are intertwined as they each sort out the truth.