In the Chesapeake harbor town of River Sunday, Jim Tench enjoys the challenge of custom building race cars. When his friend, Captain Bob, is found drowned, he assumes along with everyone else that it was a tragic fishing accident. Bob`s grandson, Smote Rojos, insists that he was murdered and draws Tench into the investigation. Clues seem to implicate Strake, a wealthy oilman and collector of antique automobiles. Tench knows that family from his past - he is still passionately in love with Strake`s talented daughter Julie. When a visiting African author begins to agitate for violent change and a bomb explodes in River Sunday because of her testimony before the United Nations, the search for answers becomes more urgent. Tench races against time to prevent the terror from escalating, with only the wisp of a clue, "Black-Eyed Susan", to guide him through the darkness.