Marko Korb is a fat, egotistical, and brilliant detective, Bosnian Jew, and a veteran of the war with Serbia. His associate, Kelan Su, is a Chinese-American woman who does most of the investigative legwork. She is a former Chicago police officer, licensed attorney, and martial arts expert. Desmond St. Clair, chef, tech expert, and former British SAS commando, joins the duo. Alan Scanlon, a medical scientist, head of the Shabel Institute, fraudulently patented and restricted the research on the gene for the rare genetic disease, feraxia. Golda Merino, the mother of a child with feraxia and head of a group that supported Scanlon's research, is charged with Scanlon's murder. The Tri-Star Investigations trio work with Attorney Cheryl Dain defending Golda. The detectives must discover the killer while negotiating Chicago's underworld and politics.