Jack McCloskey returned to Windsor, Ontario, from the Great War shell-shocked and battling inner demons. Channeling his energy into amateur fights, he's noticed by a gangster sidelining as a boxing promoter. After a brief professional stint, Jack is invited to join the crew. It's the early days of Prohibition along the Detroit River. Feeling trapped, Jack often tries to escape by throwing himself into relationships that are doomed from the start. Complicating matters further, a crime lord descends on the Border Cities, taking over all smuggling activity to finance his covert political agenda. In sharp contrast is the story of Vera Maude, a young librarian also yearning to escape, but to the cafes of Greenwich Village or the Left Bank. All she lacks is will. The climax occurs in a gripping battle at the crime lord's house on Riverside Drive and its surprising aftermath the following morning.