Kenzie escorts Angeline to the bank, where she gives him a single photo before being gunned down by an enforcer for notorious drug dealer and pimp Marion Socia.

A war erupts between Socia and his teenage son Roland, culminating in the bloodiest night of gang violence in Boston history.

A "street terrorism" bill written and sponsored by Paulson that would have curbed the violence is suspiciously stalled before coming to a vote on the weekend of July 4th.

Roland meets with the duo and assures them that, since Kenzie obscured his face in the photos provided to Colgan, he considers the business between them to be settled and will thus leave them in peace.

Themes of the novel include racial and class warfare, the personal effects of blue-collar bitterness among both white and black working-class individuals, and the emotional damage that can be inflicted by father figures.