John Adam, an analyst formerly employed by various agencies, corporations, and individuals, retires to his family home in a small town after his wife is killed in a car accident and he inherits a fortune from a distant relative. Feeling his age and determined to live quietly, he is induced to take a case for a government agency against his better judgment that soon involves him in crisscrossing international criminal issues including murder. Adam has the talent for asking the right questions and enlisting the perfect people to help him solve the mystery. Clues abound, but readers are challenged until the last few pages.