Criminology Professor Dr. Jonathan Maxwell does not believe that Professor Archer Coe died of a heart attack, so he hires his friend Mike Parker to investigate. The pair discover that the murdered professor had many enemies, and many secrets.

When a local successful executive is murdered in an explosion at his mansion, suspicions point to an attractive female investigative reporter who was close to the man and working undercover on a story about corporate scandal. Brought in by the police to help solve the crime, Dr. Maxwell has a mind that outwits the apparent. He throws himself into a world of corporate schemes to uncover a long list of hard-nosed men and women with big-money motives for murder.