Syracuse Universitys 1960 Homecoming: The big game, dreamscape posters, voodoo-curse legends, and hyper-inebriation all swirl together for an unforgettable weekend. For Bud Elstein its even more. Its the beginning of his love affair with red-headed, sharp-witted and curvacious Carlee Stecher. The affair, however, is not to last. By the next winter, Buds life and circumstances change radically. In this riveting, fast-paced tale based on actual history, his romantic dreams of both career and Carlee skid off the tracks. He loses her, quits college, and falls into the corruption of a mid-sized American city drowning in graft, gambling, bribery, coercion, prostitution, and murder. Buds closest friend, Dave Nelligan, with whom hes worked in the local numbers and policy rackets, is murdered. Seeking vengeance and justice, Bud devises a plan to entice the suspected killerand rival for Carlees loveinto a midnight duel in a deserted park. Resorting to antique pistolsrumored to have been used 100 years before in a deadly shooting by an aggrieved loverthe two face-off against each other in a howling blizzard. Once shots are fired, supernatural forces are released. What are they? Where are they from? How can Bud deal with them and with gamblers bent on killing him? Can he rescue Carlee from the police whove jailed her, and himself from horrible demons in sudden confrontation? Against terrible odds, his life and the life of the city depend upon his actions.
