Winter, 1997. Long Island, New York. Dr. David Calder has a patient, Dr. Roger Stone, whose hands are twitching, and Calder can't figure out why. Stone is also the President of CoMed, Calder's multi-specialty medical group. Could one of Stone's many personal or political enemies be killing him? Stone's unstable wife insists that this is the case. Calder's quest to unravel the medical mystery enmeshes him in medical politics, a decade-old research scandal, suicide, and murder. Meanwhile, Calder's "regular" life goes on, including caring for an autistic sister, and shepherding a remarkable patient through the terminal phases of a painful illness. Not to mention his Sherlock-Holmes-like sidelight of diagnosing strangers' ailments. Calder's cat-and-mouse chase of the murderer culminates in a dramatic showdown, exploding his preference for living life on the safer sidelines.