Harry Stone, retired CIA head, disappears while canoeing, and the consequences trigger a series of events that draw Charles Abell into a wave of betrayal, abandonment, and death. Charles Abell, the dean of the local college, is fighting scandal in the college's sports program and an antagonistic politician who is trying to gain control. Quite suddenly, the College is offered a million dollar endowment by the elderly Don and Lavinia Cynn, to be executed upon their death. Three weeks later, the Cynns are found dead in their home. Although the medical examiner says they have died of natural causes, the Cynn's disinherited daughter is confident that they have been murdered, and she intends to prove it and reclaim her family fortune from Charles Abell and the College. With the help of an old Abbott and Costello routine, Charles struggles to unravel death and deceit in the time and tide of Cuckold Creek.

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