Dr. Dowan Purcell had been missing for nine weeks when Kinsey got a call asking her to take on the case. A specialist in geriatric medicine, Purcell was a prominent member of the Santa Theresa medical community, and the police had done a thorough job. Purcell had no known enemies and seemed content with his life. At the time of his disappearance, he was running a nursing care facility where both the staff and the patients loved him. He adored his second wife, Crystal, and dotes on their two-year-old son. It was Purcell's first wife who called Kinsey but she makes Kinsey uneasy. Her instincts told her to refuse the job but as usual, Kinsey plunges in.