Termination

Jack Rosenheim is dead. The once powerful Chairman of Psychiatry at St. Vincent's Medical Center has finally escaped the pain of a lingering terminal illness, seemingly by taking his own life. However, his departure from this world may have been a well-disguised murder, suggested by its grisly nature, some unexpected autopsy findings, and its potential impact on selecting his successor. A formal investigation into Jack's death, instigated by his socialite widow, is headed up by Bill Hansen, a lowkey homicide detective on Washington D.C.'s police force. Working his way through an unfamiliar academic environment he delves into the recent and distant past in an attempt to ferret out a killer—if, indeed, there is one.