A John Doe is found months after his death; an attractive female agent for a championship athlete is believed to have jumped to her death from a rooftop. Forensic pathologists must sort out time and methods of death.

Questions about a celebrated pathologist's accuracy in past cases leads to several exhumations; Sam Ryan is assigned to reexamine the remains. One particularly brutal murder conviction depends on the time of death being precise. Two crucial witnesses are found: one on her deathbed, anxious to get something off her chest, and the other dead behind a remodeled wall.