1845. New York City forms its first police force. The great
potato famine hits Ireland. These two seemingly disparate
events will change New York City. Forever.
Timothy Wilde tends bar near the Exchange, fantasizing about
the day he has enough money to win the girl of his dreams.
But when his dreams literally incinerate in a fire
devastating downtown Manhattan, he finds himself disfigured,
unemployed, and homeless. His older brother obtains Timothy
a job in the newly minted NYPD, but he is highly skeptical
of this new "police force." And he is less than thrilled
that his new beat is the notoriously down-and-out Sixth
Ward-at the border of Five Points, the world's most
notorious slum.
One night while making his rounds, Wilde literally runs into
a little slip of a girl-a girl not more than ten years
old-dashing through the dark in her nightshift . . . covered
head to toe in blood.
Timothy knows he should take the girl to the House of
Refuge, yet he can't bring himself to abandon her. Instead,
he takes her home, where she spins wild stories, claiming
that dozens of bodies are buried in the forest north of 23rd
Street. Timothy isn't sure whether to believe her or not,
but, as the truth unfolds, the reluctant copper star finds
himself engaged in a battle for justice that nearly costs
him his brother, his romantic obsession, and his own life.
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