Lawyer Paul Madriani is called on to defend a brilliant research physician -- who just may be a killer -- in the most daunting capital case of Madriani's career.

Paul Madriani has ample reason to suspect he's representing a guilty man. Dr. David Crone, a respected medical researcher and principal in mapping the human genome, is charged with the murder of a young colleague: Kalista Jordan, an African-American research physician whose dismembered body was found in a nearby bay.

Madriani's defense is hindered by the secrecy surrounding Crone's research -- which has involved his controversial use of genetic racial profiling. The murdered woman had filed charges of sexual harassment against Crone. Paul is left to piece together a defense while Crone and his colleagues conceal parts of the puzzle.

When a key witness for the prosecution ends up dead, Crone's acquittal is all but assured. Paul's nagging doubts concerning his client are answered with a stunning revelation and a shattering climax.