"Marine biologist and former government agent Doc Ford is sure he's beyond the point of being surprised by his longtime pal Tomlinson's madcap tales of his misspent youth. But he's stunned anew when avowed bachelor Tomlinson reveals that as a younger man strapped for cash, he'd unwittingly fathered multiple children via for-profit sperm bank donations. Thanks to genealogy websites, Tomlinson's now-grown offspring have tracked him down, seeking answers...

Ford journeys to a region of Central Florida where they confront a cutthroat subculture of black-marketers and a ruthless multibillion-dollar phosphate industry that hides murder victims among its bone remains.

"Murder, sunken treasure, and pirates both ancient and modern send Doc Ford on a nightmare quest in the thrilling new novel in the New York Times-bestselling series. Marine biologist Doc Ford has been known to help his friends out of jams occasionally, but he's never faced a situation like this. His old pal Carl Fitzpatrick has been chasing sunken wrecks most of his life, but now he's run afoul of the Florida Division of Historical Resources. Its...

Unsure if he or his friend Tomlinson was the target of a recent murder attempt, Doc Ford continues investigating a near-poisoning, a plane crash, and an explosion off Sanibel Island .