Francis Rogers, a young nurse, dies in the hospital after a brief but relatively mild illness. Her death might have been considered merely unlucky if she hadn't recently made an unusual request: "Dr. Lev, my divorce has turned ugly. If anything happens to me, I want you to do my autopsy."Lewis Lev, Medical Examiner, enlists the aid of the city's most capable and sexiest detective, Jane Harmon. They join forces to dissect false leads in order to determine what really happened to Francis Rogers, and who is responsible for her death. Was it medical malpractice or homicide?Dr. Lev and Detective Harmon navigate the circumlocutions of a cast of characters that includes Frank "The Knife" Bolton, a gynecologist; Arthur Meddler, a hospital ethicist; and Bill Leary, the hospital's stingy vice president. Other characters are stereotypic of various medical specialists, sarcastically drawn against a background of hospital politics, staff meetings, and other goings-on.