They say behind every great man, there's a woman. Or, in the case of Judge Crater, three. Stella, his wife, is the picture of propriety. Ritzi, a leggy showgirl, thinks the judge's bed is the first step out of the chorus line. And thanks to the judge, dutiful maid Maria Simon's husband is now a detective in the NYPD. Crater himself is indebted to both Tammany Hall and a notorious gangster. As rumors circulate about widespread political corruption, the Honorable Joseph Crater steps into a cab and disappears forever. Or does he?