Legendary NYPD homicide detective Bill Donovan has retired so he can devote all his energy--and world-famous detective skills--to finding the elusive scientist who might cure the paralysis that confines his beloved ten-year-old son to a wheelchair. As Donovan & Son go off together on their quest, they find themselves in the sub-basement of the prestigious Riverside University library. And the first thing they find is a dying man whose last word, "mercury," diverts them into an explosive dark secret from the university's past. Donovan then rediscovers some of his own past and many of his old friends--including the notorious lover whose appearance in his life a quarter century earlier helped launch the career that brought him fame and wealth.