In 1950's Boston, the Irish Republican Army is running guns and killing witnesses. Cal and Dante, introduced in SERPENTS IN THE COLD, must descend into the city's shadowy underbelly --- a world of packed dance halls, Irish wakes and funeral parlors. There they discover a terrorist plot that will shake the city to its core and bring them head-to-head not only with Cal's past, but with the IRA Army Council itself.

Cal O'Brien and Dante Cooper are struggling to find their identities after World War II. Cal has built a mildly promising life for himself as an employee of a company providing private security. A heroin addict, Dante feels the call to do good after he discovers that his sister-in-law was the latest victim of a serial killer targeting disadvantaged women. Cal and Dante take it upon themselves to track the killer --- but their daunting quest takes on dangerous consequences when the trail leads them to the highest ranks of city government.