In Chicago, during the hot summer of 1933, Detective Tony Alfano is stunned by the violent and seemingly senseless death of a young Italian woman. Her body, discovered in the pit of a construction site, bears the marks of obscene torture and cruelty. As the weeks pass and the Chicago World's Fair excitedly anticipates the celebrated arrival of Mussolini's aerial armada of twenty-four flying boats, more murdered and brutalized bodies are discovered. Are the victims connected to this spectacular event or is this the work of a deranged psychopath? Alfano and his sergeant have only days to find the answer - and the killer - before Mussolini's fascist air fleet arrives from Italy and lands on the waters of Lake Michigan. Will Alfano find and stop the murderer before they can kill again? Or, will the Century of Progress World's Fair be forced to close due to fear, international politicians, and Chicago politics? Everything is on Alfano's shoulders.