Joe Polito/Somerville Series

Not long ago, Somerville, Massachusetts was commonly referred to as “Slummerville.” A gritty, blue-collar town just north of Boston, its major claim to fame was a brutal gang war. Then, the Boston subway system’s Red Line came to Somerville’s Davis Square, and the town began to attract a more affluent, professional class to mix with its traditional working class base. The mixing has not always been easy.

Joe Polito has lived near Davis Square his whole life, and he liked it better the way it was. He’s a 40-year old, ex-cop, who scrapes by on seasonal work as a roofer and the rents he receives from the three-family house he inherited from his parents. He says there is nothing more he wants. Eileen Merrill is a corporate lawyer from Lexington, a fancy suburb just 10 miles from Somerville. When she asks Joe to help her find her father, an ex-con named Art Delaney, Joe tries to resent her for her wealth and success, even as she draws him into a passionate affair. But as he digs into Art’s life and his criminal past, he is forced to confront the reality of the town he grew up in–the good, the bad, and the ugly. He finds the roots of that ugly past, long buried but not forgotten, about to spring up in the present and blossom in blood.

Looking for Art will change the way Joe sees himself, his town, and Art’s daughter. Or, it could get him killed, the biggest change of all.