Lydia Martin begins her fifth year as an assistant professor of political science at Patrick Henry University with every reason to think she will be granted tenure. It is with disbelief, therefore, that Lydia learns that a colleague with a scholarly record almost identical to her own has been denied tenure. The standards have been raised: one book is no longer enough! Suddenly Lydia finds herself with less than a year to begin and complete a new research project.

In her scramble for ideas she discovers a local animal rights group and sets about dissecting the organization as a case study in political extremism. But when she meets Charlie, a former group member, her research methods lose their objectivity. Only after they are lovers does she realize how much a boon to her project the study of him in particular would be.

Lydia's temptation to use Charlie for her own gain sets into motion a sequence of events that places her in the same situation she has so often blithely put others. What will she do when she discovers that her new project's success demands she expose something essential of herself?