A man found drunk on a sidewalk in Boston's West End is taken to Joy Street Jail, he's found dead in the morning. Young Peter Attwood is the policeman who brought him in. When local politician Martin Lomasney gets complaints from his Jewish voters that the man was a well-known jeweler, medical examiner Dr. Jake Magrath is called on the carpet. Morphine poisoning caused the death. Frustrated by the shoddy police work that threatens to convict Peter of negligence, Magrath is near resigning his job. But Frances Glessner Lee and Magrath's staff are determined to clear Peter. Blacklisted policeman Mack plunges into the multi-ethnic culture of the West End to find the truth. There are secrets buried in the depths of the settlement houses and tenements of the vibrant section of the city and they have to be exposed to exonerate the young policeman.