Just how much angst can one dead man handle? Stephen Fargo is about to find out. Having faked his own death at sea to escape, well, everything, he's now been yanked back to grim reality when Barry Justice, an old acquaintance, recognizes Fargo and coerces him into finding Justice's missing wife, TV news reporter Lashona Webber. Fargo may be back among the living, but it might not be for long. Somebody wants him to let Lashona stay gone. After all, she has made lots of enemies--the police department whose corruption she exposed, the psychiatrist to the stars she may be trying to unmask as a fraud, and the executives of one or more pharmaceutical companies, who stand to lose millions if she's right about problems with some vaccines. As Fargo gets deeper into his search for Lashona, the roles of ally and adversary begin to blur. The only thing Fargo knows for certain is that somebody's not buying that whole faked death routine and wants to play for keeps.