An apparent murder victim becomes the object of Quincy's thorough investigation and identification when his mother and sister insist that he is still alive.

'R.W. Collins', a famous hijacker who escaped by parachuting out of a plane with his money five years ago is found dead, hanging from a tree in the National Park he bailed out over. He died before he hit the ground and has been hanging there, undiscovered, for 5 years now. Quincy and Sam are sent to the scene to see if they can find out whom the man really was. When they reach the park, they find that things are a lot worse than they could have imagined, the anthrax particles he used to hijack the plane were released when the body was found and are spreading throughout the area infecting people who come into contact with it.

Quincy becomes concerned when a medical student accuses a veteran staff doctor of covering up the causes of a homicide while doing an autopsy.

After a life saving heart bypass operation Ted Markham's brother dies from complications. He is incensed that his brother died from what should have been a simple operation. He wants, and pays for, an autopsy from the Coroner's office and Quincy is given the job.

When he has completed the autopsy Quincy believes that the eminent surgeon, Dr. Royce, who was supposed to have done the operation didn't really do it. He thinks that a practice known as ‘ghosting' took place and that a young resident did the operation in his place.