A model community -- White flight, black rage -- Part of the uniform: the golden garter -- Apartheid, détente, and the great penile duel -- Rut, Crosby, and the rise of the gangs -- Panthers, Water Way, and the standoff in Victory Park -- Bullets in the laundromat, Shondra, and the bomb -- Rape, politics, and other crimes -- The service center and the devil's disciples -- Rapunzel, the election, and the pastry chef -- Miami and the siege of city hall -- Douglas Dollarhide's chief, Doris Davis's balls, and politics, Compton style -- Tarzan, a severed head, and the shack -- Lueders Park, the Olympics, and Mexico -- The councilman's dilemma, the back door, and the giant -- A gun to my head, casinos, and Mulberry Street -- Rut returns, the Sentinel, and the stinkers -- The ballet, the hypnotist, and the task force -- Boot Hill, the chief's mother, and jack in the box -- Richard III, the Stardust, and Orchard Street -- Gangstas, the carnival, and the ritual -- Aftermath -- Compton coda.

A decorated Compton Police Department veteran describes how his career was marked by emerging gang activity, Mafia crimes and minimal resources, in a personal account that reveals his participation in some of the troubled city's most notorious cases.