New York City, it is 1906, and the Italian crime group known as the Black Hand is on a big spree: kidnapping, extortion, and arson. Detective Isaac Bell of the Van Dorn Agency is hired to form the 'Black Hand Squad,' but the gangsters appear to be everywhere; so much so that Bell begins to wonder if criminals are using the name for the terror effect. And then the murders begin, each one of a man more powerful than the last, and to Bell's dismay, the ultimate target may be the most powerful man of all.