When medical researcher Michael Givens is charged with the murder of a colleague he turns to Paul Madriani and Harry Hinds to defend him. The murder victim, a noted chemist and genetic specialist, was on the cusp of one of the great medical discoveries of history, a cure for cancer—a genetic silver bullet. Prosecutors are convinced that Givens coldly planned and carried out the murder, and that the motive was professional jealousy. Madriani doesn’t buy it.

A longtime criminal defense attorney with a keen eye for assessing clients, he is convinced that Givens would not commit murder, and certainly not with the crude explosive device that was used. But someone else did. Digging into the victim’s work and his personal life, Madriani discovers a web of deceit and lies. Rumors surface of serious ethical violations in the testing program required to pave the way to vast riches for those who hold the patents on the new drug. Whispers abound that the dead doctor crossed moral boundaries not only in his professional life, but in his personal affairs as well, conduct for which others might well have killed him.

Concerns are voiced that the new wonder drug may prove so successful in eradicating cancer that global mortality rates could plummet. If so, could a population explosion of huge proportions result, leading to economic and political upheaval, violence, and war? Every silver lining has its dark cloud.

Behind all of this is a sinister web of intrigue into which the lawyers tumble as they fight to defend their client and discover the truth. It is a trial unlike any they have seen before, a cauldron of conspiracy that threatens to destroy Paul and Harry along with their client.