It is the first day of the new semester at prestigious Eaton University. In the Economics Department, the faculty is all atwitter over the upcoming election for department chair. The mild-mannered temporary chair Peter Johannson is running against with the ever-belligerent Walter Scovill. Who will win the post? As the candidates attempt to bribe, threaten, and cajole their way to victory, a new concern arises. The election can only take place if the required quorum is present for the vote. That may prove difficult as the department's amateur sleuth C. J. Whitmore discovers that one of her fellow faculty members is dead due to a knife wound across the throat. Can C.J. solve this murder and prevent any more deaths--at least so there are sufficient faculty members alive to form a quorum?"