On an October night in 1899 the body of a well-regarded city councilman is found floating under a Halifax wharf. Detective Inspector Culligan Baxter embarks on an investigation that leads from the waterfront, through the city's streets, and out into the surrounding countryside. Aided by the young but surprisingly astute Kenny Squire and an odd assortment of barkeeps, petty thieves, and prostitutes, Baxter's sleuthing takes him into the station's back files and along a path of connections and corruption, linking some of the city's most prominent businessmen.