Famous ornithological artist Louis Agassiz Fuertes was largely unknown when he was commissioned to paint a large mural for the 1892 Columbian Exposition. After the exposition, the nine panels that made up the mural were lost for a century. Now they were being reassembled for a major exhibit in New York. The final panel, the Center Piece, that hung in the biological sciences library at Virginia Western University, was scheduled to be reunited with the others. That is, until it vanished again, stolen in a brazen heist that leaves university police chief Desdemona White with neither clues nor suspects. Enter New York art expert Remy Tremblay, who sets her on the right trail and upends her personal life. White's colleague and friend, Professor Elena Bertoni, once again risks her life to secure essential evidence. Evidence not just of theft but also of massive fraud, greed, revenge-and murder.

Larry A. Nielsen is Professor Emeritus of Natural Resources at North Carolina State University. A native of Chicago, he has degrees from the University of Illinois, University of Missouri and Cornell University. He spent 40 years as a faculty member and administrator at Virginia Tech, Penn State and NC State. He has been a Department Head, School Director, College Dean and University Provost. He is author of more than 100 publications, including five recent books: Provost: Experiences, Reflections, and Advice From a Former "Number Two" on Campus; Nature's Allies, 8 Conservationists who Changed our World; Wolfpack Ramblings-A Thousand-Mile Walk Across NC State's Campus; Speaking Skills for Graduate Students; and, his first mystery novel, just published, Dead Man on Campus. He is a Fellow of the American Fisheries Society and was an Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor at NC State before retiring in January, 2018. In 2020, he was awarded the Excellence in Education Award by the American Fisheries Society, based on his career achievements and in 2022, was awarded the Sustained Achievement Award by the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation.