Police commissioner Isaac Sidel struggles to keep the New York Police Department from shattering When he was the police commissioner's first deputy, Isaac Sidel was one of the most powerful men in New York. But now that he's been promoted to the top job, there's nothing for Sidel to do but stare at his desk and feed the tapeworm that's attached to his stomach. The Justice Department sends him on a lecture tour of the country, but after one too many lunches with small-town mayors, Sidel goes AWOL and comes back to New York, getting in touch with the Ivanhoes, his illegal network of secret informants. A missing mob lawyer, a baseball-obsessed orphan genius, and a mysterious Romanian princess point towards a mystery that only he can tackle. Justice wants him back on tour, but something is rumbling beneath the city, and Sidel needs to be there to see it explode.