Having solved the murder of his vibrant young fianc, e, Professor Neil Kelly is preparing to leave for a desperately needed sabbatical, with plans to bury himself in the work of John Donne. But Kelly's plans are cut short by a terrible attack on two of his oldest friends. Nearly as shocking as the attack is the information that his friends had, in fact, spent years working for the CIA. Nor is the CIA the only outfit trying to find the attackers. To Kelly's horror, his friends' tragedy becomes the focus of an obscure battle among various government agencies, each jockeying for jurisdiction. And once again, it is up to Kelly to bring the grim bureacracy of crime-solving back to the all-too-human level. An erudite mystery, where the witty byplay is as important as the action and the well-done puzzle - Library Journal Peppered with literary allusions and cool, cynical repartee, this is sophisticated entertainment, and Dean plays fair with his mystery, too. - Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine