In 1976, the race is on to be the first to claim a human baby being born through in vitro fertilization (IVF). Two British doctors are said to be very close, but Dr. Colin Sanford, a brilliant OB/GYN living in Emerald, Washington, is sure he can beat them to the prize. He enlists the help of Dr. Giselle Hearn, a highly experienced geneticist working at the local university hospital. Her boss has forbidden her to do any further research into IVF, so she jumps at the chance to work with Dr. Sanford on his clandestine project.
When a healthy baby boy is born several months later to Dr. Sanford's patient, Joyce Kennett, the doctors are primed to let the world know of the birth. So why then does Joyce's husband confront Dr. Hearn in her lab, explode into a rage, and then fatally shoot her and himself?
Detective Bernie Baumgartner is sure there's more to the deaths than just the acts of an unstable man, but his superiors are wanting him to close the case quickly. This doesn't sit well with Bernie, who is as tenacious as a bulldog in his pursuit of the truth behind the deaths -- as well as the baby's birth.
The evolution of this plotline, even knowing some of the underlying facts, still makes for a tension-filled, exciting read. It's a fast-paced mystery with a more than satisfactory resolution.
Itβs 1976. Despite fierce international controversy over
whether in vitro fertilization should ever be performed in
humans, doctors around the world race to be first to produce
a baby by this procedure. Dr. Colin Sanford, a brilliant,
ambitious obstetrician in the Pacific Northwest city of
Emerald, has a plan. He recruits Dr. Giselle Hearn, an
experienced laboratory geneticist-embryologist at the
University. Drs. Sanford and Hearn, working secretly, set
out to put their names in history books.
Several months later, Dr. Sanfordβs patient, Joyce Kennett,
gives birth to a healthy boy, and Sanford prepares to make
an announcement at a press conference. But before it
convenes, Ms. Kennettβs marginally- schizophrenic husband
kills Dr. Hearn and then himself. Police Detective Bernie
Baumgartnerβs investigation is hampered by pressure from
influential people at the University who want to control
sensationalism that might harm the institution. Tenacious
Baumgartner suspects more at play...
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