A fast-paced story set in the turbulent summer of 1933, this graphic novel sheds light on prejudice and racial injustice.

The summer is stiflingly hot and the growing city feels small as a xenophobic wave rises. Everyone flocks to the lake, where in one area of the beach, a neighbourhood protective association has formed to keep out “undesirables” and its members patrol wearing silver swastika pins. Meanwhile, as the world witnesses an alarming rise of anti-Semitism overseas, the local police chief believes the immigrant Jewish community is at the root of a communist threat.

Sid and his pop live nearby in Toronto’s immigrant slum, where they rent a room. Times are tough, and Sid faces difficult choices as he wrestles with honesty, bigotry, poverty and expectations as a member of a “whiz mob” — a gang of pickpockets. When Sid and his friends get coerced into assisting the police after they’re caught stealing a wallet, they become caught up in something much bigger than themselves. They must decide how far they will go to do what’s right and to protect those they love.