Tough dedicated homicide cop Lt. Mike Ogden was a man who has his heroes-great men whom he admired and tried to emulate. Bart Fain, the brilliant National Football League coach of the New Yourk Bulls, was one of those men. In spite of a consistently-losing season, he was still on the roster of football Greats. But on a quiet Sunday afternoon, after yet another defeat on the field, someone paid him a visit in his stadium office, someone who thought he wasn't so great, someone who hated Fain enough to murder him.

Why? Because he had become, incredibly, incapable of winning a game? Because he was hated by his embittered players? Because a volatile assistant coach hungered for his job? Because an intimidated club owner saw no better way to get rid of a loser? Because a slick, hard-nose gambler saw him as an implacable enemy?