Jack Dallas, a private investigator from San Francisco is called out to Australia by a distraught family to investigate the death of a couple he once knew. Jack is hesitant to re-visit a place that will bring back troubling memories of the war. He fears his abilities are not what they used to be, but his instincts stir as he becomes further unsettled by the news of the deaths. Jack arrives in town and begins his investigation only to be hit by obstacles and cultural nuances while struggling to get the answers he needs. As he continues to probe deeper into the case, Jack gradually uncovers a greater criminal plot. When the name of a mysterious kingpin named the Boss of the Cross keeps surfacing, Jack senses he can link this underbelly player to the death of his friends, and other unsolved crimes in the Cross. The Boss of the Cross hears of the American private investigator and becomes fearful the outsider will expose the true nature of his criminal activities. The Boss decides to deal with Jack for good. Does Jack expose the real underbelly player once and for all? Will Jack survive the final battle with the Boss of the Cross? And will their deadly confrontation change Kings Cross forever? Across a city's bustling entertainment district full of nightclubs, hotels, and prostitution, to the country's most famous Melbourne Cup horse race, John S Rauseo masterfully recreates the late 1940s in this twisting Australian crime thriller.