The story so far: It is January 1904 in Kansas City. Officer Lafayette Tillman, Kansas City’s solitary black policeman, has been whittling away at two murders, one a prostitute, the other her red-headed client (or lover?), who was a labor organizer in the packing houses. While many seem to want the case closed, Tillman pursues his assignment at the behest of the West Bottoms political boss, “Big Jim” Pendergast.