Maureen Coughlin

Maureen Coughlin is in a rut. At 29, the strong Staten Island native fears she may become a “lifer” at the Narrows, the faux-swank bar where she waits tables five nights a week. Nursing a strained relationship with her mother, she tries to find ambition in the little things—a gym membership, a plan to return to school, a dash of cocaine before work—but there’s no denying that she’s stuck.

Kicking off her final week of field training, Maureen takes a punch from a panicked suspect bursting out of an apartment. Her training officer laughs it off, and the incident even yields a small victory: the cops recover a stash of pot and guns. But out on the street, on the fringes of the action, Maureen sees something sinister transpire between two neighborhood boys that leaves her shaken, and she knows there’s more to the story than she’s seen. As we follow Maureen’s dangerous hunt for answers, Loehfelm leads us around New Orleans’ most hidden corners and into its darkest outposts.

It's been a brutal year for rookie New Orleans cop Maureen Coughlin. Her first arrests, her first black eye, and, after a stinging brush with the corrupt heart of her adopted city, her first suspension. As she waits out the suspension, hoping to save her badge, Maureen finds increasingly dark and dangerous ways to pass the time. Justice, she tells herself, is being served. No need for the NOPD to know what she's doing.

Now that she's back on the force and her work with the FBI is over, Maureen Coughlin should have a quieter life. Until Mardi Gras rolls around, that is. New Orleans' biggest and most infamous party, Mardi Gras may be fun for the revelers, but it's hell for the NOPD, who try to keep the peace on streets jam-packed with drunken parade-goers and the thousands of tourists pouring into the city to join the action. With all that chaos, the city becomes a breeding ground for crimes of all shapes and sizes.