In a city that can no longer even recognize its problems, much less begin to solve them, police detectives attempt to bring in one last, worthy case against a violent crew of narcotics traffickers. And when bureaucratic poverty and infighting threatens that case, one detective will risk everything, creating a fraud that will eventually entangle the city's newspaper, which is weakened by declines in circulation and advertising. With journalism itself so vulnerable and desperate, an unscrupulous, ambitious reporter will ride the story wherever it goes - or wherever he wants it to go.