In the University of Notre Dame's philosophy department two young scholars, Amanda Pick and Hans Wiener, are competing for the same tenure position. Professor Roger Knight is a friend to both, and as he painfully witnesses the fierce competition unfold, he also becomes keenly aware of the many secrets that both professors have to hide. Through their designs, both earn the ire of many colleagues, until Amanda crosses the wrong path and ends up dead. At the same time, speculation is building about the true origins of an unknown G. K. Chesterton manuscript. Is it somehow tied in to Amanda Pick's death?