The new police chief of the young, thriving 1920's southern city of Delano is confronted with petty theft, Klan activities and, above all, the deaths of a number of young boys which lead him to suspect the doings of a serial killer.

The baby-boom years in Delano after World War II see the appointment of an ill-suited veteran as the new Police Chief, resulting in graft, police brutality and racial discrimination, while the crimes of a serial killer remain unsolved.

While Kennedy liberalism in the early 1960s offers new challenges and possibilities, the courageous appointment of a new sheriff and the resolution of a decades long hunt for a serial killer bring closure and new hope to Delano.