In 1955 a black Chicago teenager visiting relatives in Mississippi was kidnapped and brutally murdered, ostensibly for whistling at a white woman. This book focuses on the investigation that led to the acquittal of the two men accused of killing Emmett Till. Both men later openly admitted their guilt, sparking outrage that became a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. Also covered is a subsequent investigation in 2004, when the case was reopened and an autopsy was performed on Till's body for the first time.