When the aging Nashville artist Bechman Warren Fitzwallington is discovered dead in his own bed, the question for detective Hardy Seltzer is simple: natural causes, or murder? Clues are scant, and an autopsy finds no signs of homicide, but no one is grieving. The number of strangely-acting suspects seems to be multiplying as rapidly as the artists florid late canvases. Galleries in Nashville and New York are quickly fighting for the rights to sell any paintings that Fitzwallington left behind. Hardy has avoided involving his friend, former detective Shane Hadley, in his cases since the Bonz Bagley murder. But now a national spotlight is shining on him, and he needs help. At the same time, Dr. Katya Karpov, Hadleys brilliant neurologist wife, is directing a 20-year study of the aging brain. To her dismay, the confidential data in her possession turn out to reveal unsuspected relationships that will only complicate the mystery.