Synopsis

February 1932 in Chicago. A pall of criminality had settled over the city, creeping from the shadowed streets of Cicero to the glittering salons of the Gold Coast. Paul Curtiz, a lawyer of dubious repute, found himself a guest at a lavish party thrown by Augie Viale, the undisputed ruler of Chicago’s south side. There, Viale openly distributed cash to his assembled company—police commissioners, judges, lawyers, and men of business—each poised to deliver the city itself into his grasp.