On a rainy San Francisco November day, a brutal murder and a missing document take David Moore away from his duties as co-owner and private investigator of Rothmore Securities. McCloud College, a long-respected city institution, is under an attack that threatens its existence. The San Francisco Police reluctantly work with Moore, a former colleague, to identify who is killing faculty members. A lovely widow, a mousey professor with a gun, a well-connected and handsome college president, a deadly chief of campus security, and a rogue priest quickly pull him into a storm as violent as the one battering the Northern California coast. When a recently fired faculty member is murdered, Moore turns to an unlikely ally for help. She is a seductive department secretary whose need for thrills drives her into the arms of some very dangerous company. Moore must also fight against the knowledge that the lovely widow has some damning marks against her, not the least of which is his growing fondness for her. He hasn't much time to solve this puzzle, because two hired killers want the same lost document and guess correctrly that he knows where it is.