The story of four no-nonsense cops, nicknamed the "Hat Squad," who formed an elite unit of the Los Angeles Police Department in the early 1950s. Both feared and revered, they made their own rules to enforce the law. But when a routine murder investigation case involves one of their own, it forces the "Hats" into a confrontation with a power far greater than organized crime--one that could bring down the squad itself. Hat Squad leader Max Hoover's personal involvement in the baffling murder threatens not only the squad, but his wife, Katherine. Meanwhile, the jovial humor and affability of Hoover's best friend and longtime partner, Ellery Coolidge, masks a big temper that he attempts to contain with an even bigger appetite. Completing the quartet are Eddie Hall, the handsome ladies' man of the team, and Arthur Relyea, the newest and youngest member of the squad.