Dr. Brandon Cowley finds himself immersed in a conspiracy to defraud the federal government billions of dollars in a research protocol designed to put the majority of vascular surgeons out of business. The Heart Assisted Device is designed to obviate the need for more expensive and traditional cardiac bypass surgery, but positive research results must support the government’s claim that the device is superior to the more expensive CABG surgeries. Brandon uncovers a plot to murder his patients to report favorable results and thus make the FDA’s case for the new procedure. A parallel plot involves Mexico’s intent to steal American biotechnology. This page-turner throws the reader into the worlds of medical research, governmental bureaucracy and conspiracy, and the sordid underground realm of organized crime.

Keith Barton grew up on the Eastern Shore of Virginia on Chincoteague Island where the ponies roam and swim from Assateague Island to his birthplace each year. The son of a naval officer, he moved every three years until his teens and enjoyed the waters on the East and Gulf Coasts including: New Orleans, Saint Simons Island, Virginia Beach, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda. When Keith is not writing, he pursues his clinical psychology practice in Houston, Texas. He just completed his seventh book in three years.