In this sequel to "Murder on G-Deck" Dr. Sharpe has returned to teaching and research. Swearing to “go straight” and stick to academic pursuits, he is dragged into a series of polite poisonings after a student in his 'Physics for Poets' class dies of an apparent heart attack. When his son-to-be stepson's favorite kindergarten teacher, a student teacher from the university nearly suffers the same fate, he is forced to investigate. Someone is slowly knocking off the undergraduates. The only common feature of the victims seems to be their involvement in an on-line English course, but the truth is more complex