Did Father Jim Gallagher murder Dr. Sergi Povitch? The police think so. Povitch dies at his observatory from poison at Gallagher’s dinner table. Now Gallagher is on the run. Matthias Jones tries to exonerate the priest, but he also suspects his star player who confided drug use to Dr. Povitch. A Povitch colleague has stolen vital notes from the doctor's notebook for a book deal. And was Povitch's companion, Elsie McIntire, after his money? Blocking Jones's investigation is a bumbling security cop, Bucky Driscoll. Driscoll clumsily destroys vital evidence and his constant stupidity annoys Jones' temperamental close friend-a sly underworld figure named Cocoa Stefani. Then- a second murder-one of Jones's cheerleaders. While at the funeral in her hometown, Jones finds the evidence he needs to confront the murderer.