Alex Everly Mann, a retired Arizona state pharmacy inspector and Vietnam War veteran uses his powerfully disarming personality to solve the possible murder of an old friend's son. Alex is aided by his protege, Huyen Nguyen, who draws her strength from the monumental challenges she faced fleeing communism in South Vietnam. Their investigation leads them on a cross-country manhunt for a key witness who may help answer: "Was it murder or pestle?""