A murder has occurred in an incurable ward. All the patients will die within a few weeks so it makes an investigation pretty meaningless, does it not? As Inspector Hedge points out to his Superintendent. But the Scotland Yard chief insists he wants his brilliant top notch inspector on the case - justice must be seen to be done. There is however a deeper issue to be investigated... Is the killer virus Code Name Green Swan that is decimating the patients in that ward possibly the result of a Government Germ warfare experi- ment that has gone wrong? And is there a coverup in progress? A big plus is that Inspector Hedge has had and is still suffering from a nervous breakdown so he can be inserted into the clinic as a patient. Which raises a further problem. The inspector is subject to hallucinations which will make it difficult to sort out the facts. When another patient claims that he/she is working for MI5 he must question whether it is the medication or is the country really in danger of a virulent pandemic breaking out?