The last novel of the "Reconstruction Trilogy" books sees the Klans decline and followed the story of lawyer and North Carolina Grand Dragon John Graham, as he suffers a personal collapse following problems with alcohol and economic impoverishment. He orders the disbanding of his Klan, but a group of upstarts refuse to follow his orders, and continue their activities, quickly devolving into a program of terror across the state. When a judge is murdered by a man in Klan uniform, Graham's troubles increase as he becomes the primary suspect . . . Meanwhile, Graham's love interest, Stella Butler, hires a northern Secret Service detective to find the real murderer, and intrigue follows intrigue until the situation is at last resolved,