Inspector Brackenreid grumpily hosts his wife's guest, Prohibition extremist Carrie Nation, who leads the provocative campaign for a referendum to close all pubs in Toronto Junction, the brawl district. His own son Johnny promises to hide the whiskey, but can't resist tasting it too often. Councilman Arthur Slauson, who might cast the decisive vote, dies in police jail, from wood alcohol poisoning incurred during a bar fight incurring his arrest. Murdoch and Crabtree look into every aspect of the poisoning, the bar fight, and the economics of a possible district prohibition, focusing on barman Leopold Buck and fight provocateurs, hired by reverend Shore.
—KGF Vissers