A succession of deaths surround Midwest Research Labs, a Minnesota family business involved in diverse projects--from bird flu research to what the family patriarch, A.M. Pallidin, claims is a philanthropic effort to provide free fresh water to the thirstiest regions of the world. Minneapolis police investigators Mark Truitt and Jamie Littlebird tie together an apparent suicide with a series of crimes that directly implicate the Pallidin family. However, as with every true crime mystery, there is much more evidence to uncover before any facts are confirmed--and at least one version of the truth not only terrorizes Truitt"s family, but reaches around the world to determine the fate of an African woman gathering dewdrops. Is it possible that there are those with a great deal of money and power who are committed to a far larger objective--one that threatens to manipulate and control the most elemental aspects of sustenance in an overcrowded planet?