Plot

The body of a woman, initially identified as an alcoholic prostitute, is found in a rundown motel. Soon, it's discovered she's a former actress, who's writing a tell-all book; the contents of which could prove damaging to certain people.

Margo Bentley's about her experiences hobnobbing with powerful people worldwide just might be a best-seller. Concerned about advance publicity, she advises her agent that she'll continue working in a hotel, under an alias. Hours later, she's dead, apparently of liver cirrhosis. Unmoved by Quincy's objections, Asten releases the body to a funeral home that quickly cremates it. Then Quincy finds a strange microorganism in her blood - something he's never seen before. One of Margo's friends gives Quincy the New York telephone number of her literary agent, but Quincy finds that avenue closed - by the days earlier death of that agent, apparently from liver cirrhosis.—CommanderBalok

Margo Bentley is writing her first book, the contents of which could prove very damaging to a certain group of people. She is murdered and brought into the lab as a suspected alcoholic prostitute with cirrhosis but Quincy thinks the body is telling him something different about her social standing. Quincy is asked to present a seminar in Buffalo, NY by Asten, while he's preparing his notes Asten takes over in the lab. In Quincy's absence, Asten signs the body out to a phony coroner and Quincy begins tracking her down. This leads him to a murdered literary agent in New York and a race to autopsy him before he's cremated so he can prove a link.