I. The odor of a case, July 26-31 [1967]. 1. Do you hate the police? ; 2. A dangerous account ; 3. Too hot to handle --
II. Three cops and three days, July 23-5. 4. The first day ; 5. Snake ; 6. The second day ; 7. An out-of-doors man ; 8. The third day ; 9. Quiet and respectable ; 10. An alarm of snipers --
III. Auburey and his circle. 11. The fork in the road --
IV. Confession, July 31. 12. Could you get my statement back? --
V. The Algiers motel incident, July 25-6. 13. The snipers ; 14. A game of chess ; 15. Man, they're going to shoot ; 16. How to attack a building ; 17. Everybody downstairs! ; 18. Phone calls ; 19. Enter and exit : state police ; 20. Conduct becoming an officer ; 21. Up and down the line ; 22. Just in time to pray ; 23. Enter Warrent Officer Thomas ; 24. Interrogations ; 25. The knife game ; 26. Skin show ; 27. The death game ; 28. The death game played out ; 29. Out --
VI. Aftermath, July 31 and after. 30. A matter for investigation ; 31. First man in court ; 32. Logical to be nervous ; 33. Senak's Peninsula ; 34. These are not little boys ; 35. The law was made by people ; 36. Law and order for all? ; 37. Under indictment ; 38. A mother speaks ; 39. The net is thrown again ; 40. Snipers : the myth ; 41. Fuel for the fire next time ; 42. Harrassment? ; 43. The Paille appeal ; 44. A numbness ; 45. Conspiracy? ; 46. Padlocking ; 47. A cutting ; 48. A winter of waiting ; 49. Three men at work ; 50. The legal maze ; 51. Last words ; 52. What is wrong with this country?

This is John Hersey's account of an incident in the Detroit riot of 1967 in which three black men were reported killed in a sniper battle at the Algiers Motel. What really happened at the Algiers Motel? Mr. Hersey spent months on a detailed investigation and came to the conclusion that it contained all the mythic themes of racial strife in the United States."