Eastern philosophy and legal thinking meet in this mystery novel in which Max Macarthur faces the greatest challenge of his young career when he must serve as defense counsel to cult leader Shiva Ram Acharya. In a grisly echo of Jonestown, 20 members of a cult are found savagely executed in an isolated island on Canada's west coast, and Acharya, who was there, claims to have amnesia when questioned about the events. As Macarthur falls under the sway of the brilliant and enigmatic Acharya, he becomes convinced of the cultist's innocence and embarks on a danger-ridden quest to find the true murderer.