Set in the 1960s America, this is the story of Mike Romano, a former maverick marine. Steeled by the mean streets of New York City, Mike is now a civilian pounding the pavement to sell burial insurance in a black ghetto in Charleston, South Carolina. In spite of his volatile past and coming from the lower classes, he is determined to do what is necessary to get his piece of the action in a hostile world. Identifying with the plight of his black clientele, he is eventually driven to take action, despite the potential risk to himself and his family. The novel blends political intrigue, war, betrayal, love and vengeance into a single moving experience. Aided by friends and mentors, and taking full advantage of a combative relationship with a wealthy, seductive woman with political aspirations, Mike battles alongside activists determined to change the segregationist policies of South Carolina, and to end the Vietnam War.