Family reunions are festive occasions and the Petrie clan is no exception. But families also have secrets. Some innocent. Some potentially devastating. Zofia, a Polish immigrant and the family matriarch, kept a secret from her son, Sam, until her final family reunion. Wanting to atone for her guilt, since surviving the Nazi occupation in Poland, she divulged her story to him. Not heeding her warning Sam, with the help of his friend Utica policeman Carl Thurston, embarks on a mission of family reunion. Little could Sam know that he would become wrapped in an international adventure, as he seeks to reunite his family. Dr. Sam Petrie and Officer Thurston return in this thrilling sequel to Mantis and the Mole and are again thrust into a whirlpool of mystery, romance and death. Along with FBI agent Lisa Barducci, they find themselves involved in suspense on the Adirondacks Scenic Railway train with her riding aboard a "train to Hell" as they combat the International Alliance.