First published 1980
President Harding has just died when Denver newspaperman Tom Hastings senses the biggest story of his career. The year is 1923, and the Ku Klux Klan has infiltrated the highest levels of Colorado government. Hastings wants to expose them, but the pursuit puts his Jewish stepfather directly in danger. His wife already resents his devotion to the newspaper. The Klan's supremacist Kleagles target anyone who opposes them. Around Hastings swirls a cast of eighty characters: his half-sister Anna Kohl, socialist David Waldo, rising politician Willie Brown, and Marvel Millette, a fearless female reporter who becomes his equal. Real figures populate the story too, including Klan Grand Dragon John Galen Locke and newspaper dynasty founder Fred Bonfils. As white-robed Klansmen gather under torch-lit skies and crosses burn in angry flames, Hastings must choose between his journalistic ambitions and the safety of those he loves.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, journalism, political-thriller
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, investigative-journalism, political-intrigue
Setting: Colorado, Denver
Period: 1923
Hardcover · Times
Content warnings: racism