A big-city reporter returns to his quiet hometown in hopes of penning the story that will win him a Pulitzer, only to discover that his old nemesis, a McCarthyite thug, rules the town with an iron fist. The year is 1952: paranoia is sweeping the nation, and Roland Lu is heading back to Millville. The last time Roland came home someone was murdered, and it's beginning to look like history may repeat itself. Roland's family and friends live in constant fear for their lives, and it's all due to one man: Frank Dugan. Under Dugan's rule, the Chinese population of Millville is experiencing the same kind of persecution that the Jewish population of Germany experienced in the 1930s. Roland is a self-loathing Asian, and his girlfriend, Liz, fears that he will soon sell out in order to claim his literary award and finally be accepted into white society. But Roland knows that in order to get back on top, he'll have to take down Dugan first.