The initial entry in the Pine-Thomas series based on the "Big Town" radio series finds Steve Wilson as a newly-hired managing editor brought on board to liven up "The Illustrated Press" newspaper. He runs into problems with two of the paper's star reporters, Lorelei Kilbourne and Pete Ryan, when his aggressive demands that they employ a yellow journalism type of reporting to build circulation, and they both resign to work for another newspaper. Wilson begins to realize that while his type of journalism does build circulation, it has also brought ruin and disgrace to some innocent victims. Lorelei and Pete are brought back by Wilson with his promise that "The Illustrated Press" will become a crusader against evil.