Power Plays / Collin Wilcox

On the face of it, it was only a minor traffic accident, a fender bender between a Buick and a Mercedes. But when Lieutenant Frank Hastings, San Francisco Homicide, shows up, it seems that something more’s at stake — the driver of the Buick has fled from the scene, leaving a man’s corpse in the back seat. And not just any man, mind you. He’s a former Washington columnist, making a come-back on the trail of the “story of the decade.” But who would want him dead? And why are America’s biggest power players suddenly converging on the San Francisco Police Department? And finally, will Lt. Hastings be forced to face the murderer alone?