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A reporter is drawn into a German refugee’s story of conspiracy

The photo contest is an ancient circulation gimmick. Each day, the Morning Bulletin publishes a candid photo of one of Boston’s citizenry, offering a cash reward if they see themselves in the paper within twenty-four hours of publication. It’s not a bad way to sell papers, but it could mean a death sentence for Ethel Kovalik.

When she comes to collect her prize money she begs Larry Palmer, the reporter who handles the contest, not to print her name or address. She has come to the city looking for her husband, a GI whom she fell in love with in Germany in 1946, before he mysteriously disappeared. Now a Communist agent is chasing her, and publicity will only help him find her. Unsure of her far-fetched tale, Palmer checks up on Ethel. What he learns could mean death—or the scoop of a lifetime.