Thirteen-year-old Reason Nelson attends a party that is busted by the local police. As he flees, he collides with a detective and a Black drug dealer. He snatches up what he believes to be his leather jacket and drunkenly crawls into a doghouse, dragging the jacket with him. In the pocket of this coat, Reason discovers a key that opens a safe-deposit box. The box contains evidence that will solve the murder of a young female informant.

In a coming-of-age story reminiscent of The Outsiders, the audiobook is based on the unsolved murder of State Patrol informant Patricia Webb that took place in Nebraska in 1976. First published by Media Productions in 1982, the book sold 5,000 copies in schools, alternative schools, and institutions. In 2020, a revised edition was released. It is this revised edition that the stage play is based on.

The second theme of the audiobook involves the fact-based event that took place in 1966 on the outskirts of Lincoln. Mary Partington, a retired school teacher, who lived at 44th and Havelock, shot and killed an intruder climbing in through her kitchen window. For 20 years, kids had been driving out to the Partington farm to terrorize Mary. It became a rite of passage for kids to sneak onto her property. After the shooting, Mary was known as Bloody Mary. In this fictional account, Reason Nelson witnesses the fatal shooting on the Partington farm. He is trespassing by riding his motorcycle along the banks of Salt Creek. He watches the home invasion take place. He is adamant that Mary acted in self-defense. However, he is reluctant to call the police to report what he witnessed.