Cast of Characters

Joe Barnes
Joe is the head janitor and repairman at Chicago's Allerton Hotel as our story begins. He lives in the hotel basement, near the boilers and the hotel's central processor. Joe's smart and conscientious, but has a very cynical and world-weary attitude. It seems that he wasn't always a janitor, but he keeps the details of his past closely guarded.

Sam Cross
Samantha "Sam" Cross is one of the Chicago Daily Herald's top investigative reporters. She got her big break when most of the Herald's male reporting staff got shipped out to World War II; unlike many of her fellow female replacements, she kept her job when the boys came home. Rumor has it there was a bet and a fistfight involved. The daughter of ex-prizefighter Lewis "Lefty" Cross, Sam is tough, dogged and highly competetive.

Frank Ferguson
Francis J. Ferguson III, son of a Lakeshore Drive meatpacking magnate, is the newest agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Chicago field office. Fresh from the FBI Academy, with a degree in criminal justice from the University of Chicago before that, Frank's lack of experience is offset by his enthusiasm and patriotism. He's the youngest of three children, and the only son in his family. He and his father don't speak much.

Buddy Foster
Special Agent Bernard "Buddy" Foster heads up the Organized Crime unit of the FBI's Chicago branch. With a sterling reputation for some of the biggest collars in the FBI's history, rumor has it that Buddy's on the fast track for promotion, and may even have drawn the notice of J. Edgar Hoover himself. He's highly respected and liked within the Bureau for his friendly personality, strong work ethic and innate investigative skills.

More to come...