George Beall, the 32-year-old U.S. Attorney for Baltimore and scion of a politically connected Maryland family, prioritizes rooting out political corruption in his home state. The 26 subpoenas issued by his team of attorneys immediately suggest a connection between quid pro quo kickback schemes and the Baltimore County executive’s office. What appears to be “garden variety” local corruption takes on larger significance, however, when Beall receives a phone call from Richard Kleindienst, the Attorney General of the United States. Kleindienst wants to know the status of the investigation because it has made Agnew “very nervous.” While Beall assures Kleindienst that Agnew is not implicated in the investigation, attorney Baker sees a possible connection. Agnew was Anderson’s predecessor as Baltimore County executive, a position “prosecutors were now discovering was a hive of corruption” (54). Despite Baker’s eagerness to “get Agnew,” the statute of limitations has expired on any possible crimes he may have committed while County executive. Beall’s team wonders why Agnew is still nervous about the investigation. They suspect he could still be accepting bribes six years later.

One of Beall’s 26 subpoenas is served to Lester Matz, a partner in a local engineering firm that has been awarded a disproportionate share of government contracts.