Can they take his heart if he has a soul?
Solomon is an extraordinary chimpanzee, taught by primatologist Abigail Philips to understand and use language. But her research center is under a financial death sentence from her university. Desperate to save Solomon from what, for him, would be a dismal life in a retirement facility, Philips agrees to give legal control of Solomon to billionaire Walter Drake. He has agreed to house Solomon in comfort and enable her pioneering communication research to continue.
But the ailing billionaire has really bought himself a heart He betrays Philips, planning to "harvest" Solomon's heart to biologically engineer it to replace his own failing heart. The procedure will not only doom Solomon. Its success will also sentence a thousand chimpanzees in sanctuaries to death on the operating table, and lead to industrial breeding of chimpanzees for organ harvesting.
Solomon's only hope is flamboyant LA trial lawyer R. William "Bobby" Colter, defender of whoever pays his considerable fee. Hired by eccentric dowager Sarah Huntington, he sets out to win the most difficult case of his career: obtaining legal protection for Solomon.
Can Colter succeed against all legal precedent and free Solomon, or will the chimpanzee die at the hands of surgeons, a harbinger for the end of a thousand of his brethren?
Author Dennis Meredith has crafted a gripping, thought-provoking story that resonates with emotion. It also sheds dramatic light on the profound ethical issues of legal rights for our closest living primate relatives.