While almost everywhere else is experiencing an increase in criminal activity, this Southern city is witnessing exactly the opposite. The crime rate is going down but not all crimes. People with a variety of illnesses are experiencing unexpected improvements to their health. There are even unusual changes to the behavior of some of the animals at the local zoo. All these things are occurring in just this one city. There is no one who can account for the strange goings-on. Those few who are even aware that something is in the works have no idea why it is happening. They have been unable to come up with an explanation that makes sense. A freelance writer, Ardan Healy, being naturally curious, finds himself drawn to the search for explanations. The more he learns the stranger it all seems. How can these things be related to one another? After false starts and dead end trails, Ardan intensifies his efforts but questions whether he will ever find the answers he seeks. Ardan's search for the solution to this puzzle leads him straight into conflict with other parts of his life. Will he stumble on missing pieces of his past while he is looking for parts of the other puzzle? Can he solve both puzzles at the same time? He discovers more than he ever imagined and is pulled deeper and deeper into the mystery. He recruits others to help with the quest for reason in what is going on and finds himself trusting some troubled persons to help him. Ardan uncovers other hard to believe changes taking place in his adopted hometown and they are not all bad, though they are unusual. Is there an unrecognized crime at the root of all these occurrences? What will he do if he finds that someone is responsible for all this and it is not an act of nature? And if there is someone, who could it possibly be?