December 24, 1930. That evening, small-time mug Hap Levinson is playing Santa Claus at the Sackman Orphan Home. Santa brings toys and ice cream to all the waifs. He walks outside, waves good-bye, and is promptly machine-gunned to death by hoods in a speeding car. Quite a shock for all the kiddies. Killing Santa is not a federal crime, but Eliot Ness investigates. Hap was a friend of Ness' for 10 years; they had sort of a truce. If Ness was on official business, they were on opposite sides of the law; unofficially, they were pals. Hap was a frontman for Mike Volney who owns the Criss Cross Club; Volney trusted him, and Hap also kept his books and records for him. It doesn't figure that anyone would rub out a small potatoes guy like Hap, especially since almost everyone liked him. The only motive could be because a month ago, Volney had shot another hood named Augie over some silly bet; there were 4 witnesses counting Hap. 2 of the witnesses had been killed. Now, with Hap rub