If someone in the pharmaceutical industry came upon a cheaper, non-addictive, and more effective painkiller, would he kill for it? Washington D.C. private detective Robert "Don't call me Bobby" Brixton, along with his mentors, attorneys Mac and Annabel Smith, discover that the answer is a resounding "Yes," as they try to help Jayla King, a medical researcher at a small D.C. pharmaceutical firm, carry on the work of her father. His experiments in the jungles of Papua New Guinea in search of such a breakthrough product led to his brutal murder and the theft of his papers. Did Jayla's father's lab assistant kill the doctor and steal his research? Is this shadowy figure prepared to kill again to keep Jayla from profiting from her father's work? Does her recent paramour's romantic interest reflect his true feelings--or will he sell her out and reap the rewards for himself? And to what lengths would Big Pharma's leading lobbyist go to cover up his involvement, and to protect a leading champion of the pharmaceutical industry--a Georgia senator with a shady past? As Mac, Annabel, and Brixton soon realize, no pill can ease the pain that the answers to these questions inflict on everyone in this tale of greed, betrayal--and murder.