Rep Pennyworth faces the client from hell: Charlotte Buchanan contends her 1997 novel is the basis for the 1999 film, Contemplation of Death. She wants to sue. Rep digs in, aided by his literature-addicted wife Melissa, and files suit. By return mail comes a death threat, a grisly (and gristly) version of “Hold Your Tongue.” Research shows the film’s director to be Aaron Eastman, Hollywood legend, whose Red Guard should have been a box office and critical smash but fell oddly short. Eastman contends the Oscar balloting was sabotaged. He and Rep talk and, bit by bit, the outline of a bizarre scheme to destroy the credibility of Red Guard—and Eastman—emerges. Hoosiers Rep and Melissa aren’t prepared for what happens next. The first in the Rep and Melissa Pennyworth Series.