As Jason Spradlin strives to gain tenure and start his new career at a research university, opposition from a senior professor in Biology becomes personal and dangerous. Jason's research into gene therapy is challenged by Jefferson Bell on ethical and moral issues. When the faculty fails to support Bell's demands that Jason's work be stopped, Bell and a local minister hire thugs to sabotage Jason. The destruction of scientific equipment, vandalism of the vivarium, and the firebombing of Jason's laboratory fail to deter him. An attempt to murder Jason backfires and an elderly neighbor is killed.
Jason obtains an NIH grant and joins with an investigator in the Medical School to correct genetic defects in two children with Wilson's disease. He and his graduate students work through the intricacies of locating the defects and making corrections. They discover the disease involves as many as five genetic errors, all of which must be corrected.
Jason's life is complicated through a brief affair with Elizabeth, a sensuous graduate student, before he discovers the love of his life, Lucy Bacon, a faculty in English.
When neither the department head nor the police believe Bell is behind destructive acts, Jason, with Elizabeth's help sets out to find evidence. After Elizabeth is kidnapped and Lucy is almost killed, Bell and his cronies are brought to trial and found guilty.
The book will interest readers of intrigue and mystery with a particular attraction to those interested in higher education and science. The manuscript address a topic currently in the headlines with genetic therapy promising to cure diseases, nut raising ethical questions about how far science should be permitted to go.
