The wife and daughter of a well-known philanthropist are kidnapped and held for ransom, and psychic Denise Fort is brought in help Nick and Schanke with the case. Her powers are genuine, and therein lies the problem: she keeps picking up flashes of Nick's "other life", and Nick feels torn about whether or not to reveal himself to her, since she thinks it's a sign that she's having a breakdown. Nick's recollections of a similar situation in Puritan New England make him determined that Denise won't share th e fate of his mortal friend from that time.

A journalist covering the mayoral election is electrocuted in his hotel room. Later his girlfriend is found dead too. It appears one of the candidates may be involved in a sex scandal. Can Nick find out who committed these murders without engaging in a witchhunt? Dirty politics and mudslinging gets Nick thinking about when he was Professor Nicholas Girard (Chicago, 1954) -- and on trial before the HUAC on charges of being a Communist.