When Pierce Reisling and his partner Wal Hankins accept a consulting assignment at a local hospital, little do they realize that they'll soon find themselves in mortal peril. Pierce, a fastidious accountant, is already at odds with his ex-foreman partner who has a habit of finding problems where none exist. So when Wal insists that all is not as it seems at St. Helen, Pierce is reluctant to believe him until the bodies begin to mount up. The hospital's lay administrators don't help. Quarreling with members of the founding religious order, they complicate matters with back-room financial arrangements and surreptitious love affairs. The more the partners probe, the more menacing their situation becomes, until they are forced to fight for their lives. The story mixes humor, sex, greed and despair that lead to a fast-paced surprise climax.
