Rapt in a face-paced life style, Dr. Karen Haviland, a world-class scientist, griefs over the loss of her husband, who died in a plane crash while testing the air quality over Beaumont, TX. A co-head of their lab at the Houston Medical Center, Karen has been left with the heavy responsibility of proving the serious health consequences linked to oil refineries that pollute Texas air. Harley Adams, the new press sectary for the Governor, zeroes in on the assignment the Governor has given him, which is to put the clamps on this woman who is a cog in the wheel of the huge oil machine. This is the same powerful machine that swung the vote in the Governor's election and wants him into the White House. Already he has become leery of his new job as much corruption paints the walls of the Executive Suite at the State Capitol. A strong influence on the governor, Harley tries to steer him down a better path. Harley, a retired DEA agent, is naive about how far Haman, the king of oil and his henchmen Dick are willing to go to achieve an impenetrable empire. When the Dean of Medicine and his wife are killed in a mysterious accident on a Mt. Everest climbing expedition, Karen becomes the interim Dean, which makes her more of a target. Haman instructs the Governor if he doesn't stop Karen, he will. In the meantime, a love affair develops between Karen and Harley creating an entanglement that puts both at risk. As the plot twists and turns in this suspense thriller, it guarantees to keep the reader on the edge to the end.