​Amid the infection of urban decay and fatuous political causes, mischief looms in the New Orleans neighborhood of Gentilly Terrace. A newly elected tax assessor, Jerry Sonothanx, is burdened with gambling debts and childcare payments and in desperate need of cash. After receiving a tip that a family-owned Vietnamese grocery store in his district is running an illegal lottery, Jerry sees an opportunity for financial salvation and enlists the services of an opportunistic political insider to teach him the gentle art of extortion.

Meanwhile, FBI Agent Margot Hoang finds herself increasingly smitten with a local police officer even as she is assigned to surveil the same lottery-running grocery store that is thriving in her childhood neighborhood.

And Lecky Calloway, a henpecked middle-aged lawyer married to the wealthy scion of an old New Orleans family, determines that he's ready to experiment with his suppressed sexuality while trying to support his daughter as she undergoes addiction recovery.

The paths of these characters intersect when a tragic crime at the grocery store irrevocably alters their lives. Weaving a fascinating, complex political crime story full of keen satire, petty struggles, and crooked public servants, The Prophets of Gentilly Terrace depicts life on the gritty streets of a once-grandiose city.