May 1929. A statuette vanishes from above a speakeasy bar, the thief is found murdered, and disgraced former Harvard student Charlie Bohannon becomes the prime suspect. Disowned by his family for embodying the worst of Irish-Catholic stereotypes after a previous speakeasy raid, Charlie lives on the fringe of the underworld, falling in with King Solomon’s mob.

Solomon, the dean, Charlie’s father, Joseph Kennedy, and several other criminals demand he deliver not only the statuette but also its legendary counterpart: the jewel-encrusted King’s Collar. Few have noble motives.

Joined by Olivia, a fearless Beacon Hill socialite, and Punchy, a scrappy but honorable ex-sailor, Charlie’s search for the Collar exposes dark undercurrents woven into Boston’s gilded facade. Like the missing statuette, some of the city’s killers hide in plain sight.

When Olivia and Punchy are kidnapped and the King’s Collar is the ransom, Charlie knows time is running out. But finding the Collar is no guarantee that he—or his friends—will survive.