All through the summer of 1954 in Butte, Montana, a series of curious murders haunt Kieran "Red" Maguire, crime reporter for the Bugle daily newspaper. They appear to have nothing in common with one another except for a single purple rose placed on each victim. Red and his hard-nosed crime-fighting accomplice, police captain Harold "Duke" Ferndale, struggle to find clues that will solve a chilling mystery that terrifies residents of the Mining City. Red, a love-deprived but handsome Irishman, encounters adoring women, bare-knuckle criminals, outrageous characters who roam the streets, and a relentless Bugle editor who spares no murderous details so newsboys can bark lurid headlines in uptown bars. Through it all, Red copes with haunting memories of his pretty young mother, reminding the reader that no hero escapes the clutches of past regrets.