Investigator Frank Adams receives a call from an old college acquaintance after a light aircraft crashed into a North Carolina, hog farm. Adams must return to his small-town roots, where the shadow of the old South still lurks in his boyhood memories. After arriving in Scottsville, he immediately senses that the accident attributed to Dr. Lanmore's age and physical condition may in reality be rooted in sabotage. Adams' former college chemistry professor, now a cancer researcher with an impressive record of success, was being courted by the local pharmaceutical company with the lure of big profits and a distinguished status. But the professor wanted his work to be made available to mankind for free. After learning that, the local politicians and the pharmaceutical company were determined to do anything to get their hands on his research. Could Frank prove it was murder?
On a refreshingly cool summer evening in North Carolina, a hog farmer was stunned, then horrified when a light airplane crashed into his hog pens and erupted into flames.
The ensuing FAA investigation convinced the small town that the crash was an accident. Except for one person. Ted Grant was an academic colleague and good friend of Dr. David Lanmore’, and Ted knew that Dr. Lanmore had just discovered a cure for cancer.
The last place Frank Adams wanted to investigate an airplane accident was in his hometown of Scottsville, North Carolina. Though his parents were no longer living, Clayton Housley, his uncle, wielded significant influence over the town and surrounding areas as if it were his own fiefdom.
But Ted Grant’s call was urgent and disturbing. Apparently S&H Pharmaceuticals had discovered Dr. Lanmore’s secret and would go to any lengths to acquire the research. But would they kill for it? And if Frank meddled in the town’s business, would his life be in danger?