Elizabeth (Liz) Hargrove, renowned ballerina and writer, is brutally murdered in the practice studio of her suburban home. A second body, that of her frequent dance partner, a Native-American named Lincoln Crow, is found at the murder scene. Her husband, General Matthew Quint, the first African-American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and possible Presidential nominee after retirement, returns from a military assignment on the night of the murder. Unwilling to provide an alibi, and with a history of womanizing and abuse coupled with their recent estrangement and the divorce proceedings filed by his wife, he becomes the prime suspect of civilian authorities. The local detectives believe that in an interracial marriage the culprit is invariably the spouse. The Chiefs of Staff and the President set up an elite investigative unit to prove the General's innocence in order to protect the reputation of the military and the country. Major Hank Boudreau, an ex-New Orleans research scientist who worked out his midlife crisis by re-enlisting and becoming the General's chief pilot and friend, is assigned to lead the group. From here, the plot takes unexpected twists and turns, doggedly followed by the amateur Cajun detective to its surprising conclusion.