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Jarod becomes a radio talk-show host in order to catch the man who intends to kill both Neil Roberts and a physically challenged young woman.

Jarod is listening to a talk radio show on WLNJ, as he drives out of Chicago, when someone attempts to kill the host, Neil Roberts. Roberts' credo is "never stop questioning" and his callers discuss conspiracies and cover-ups suffered at the hands of the powers that be (PTB). Jarod turns around, drives to the station, and takes Roberts' place, using the name "Middle Man" as his on-air ID.

While filling in for the missing Roberts', Jarod methodically searches for the thread that ties the killer to Neil Roberts and a young physically challenged woman named Patricia Marie Lorenz.

When Roberts reappears, he tells Jarod that while he was a staff surgeon in an army hospital at Fort Bragg, he was a part of government-sponsored experiments, some of which were performed on pregnant women. When Neil got results that suggested there might be an adverse reaction, he was told to forget about it. Instead of questioning the PTB, he allowed himself to be convinced that everything would be all right. Patricia Marie Lorenz, the young woman Roberts' anonymously supports through The New Vista Foundation, is the child of the pregnant woman upon whom Neil used the experimental drugs.

Jarod initiates a minor Pretend as an Army intelligence officer, Major Jarod "Turgidson," in order to get Roberts' complete military file. He learns that Neil's radio show did a series on the experiments. The publicity made the government PTB nervous and they shut the project down. An internal investigation ended up with the doctor in charge of the program, Colonel Willard Spence, AKA Pavlov, going to prison for seven years. Released just two weeks earlier, Spence is determined to kill the man he blames for ruining his life, as well as the girl who inspired the man to do it.

Jarod tricks Spence into thinking that Patty is alone and vulnerable, then captures him when he tries to kill her. Giving the doctor a taste of his own medicine, Jarod provides him access to three syringes, only one of which, he tells him, contains the insulin that he needs. The other two contain highly experimental drugs. Rather than risk making the wrong choice, Spence confesses to attempting to murder both Roberts and Patty.

Thomas Gates has put his house in Blue Cove on the market and intends to move to Oregon. Miss Parker agonizes over the choice between staying with her family at The Centre and continuing to try to unravel her tangled past, or leaving it all behind and going with Thomas. Mr. Lyle goes to Chicago without Miss Parker to attempt to capture Jarod on his own but comes up with nothing but an on-air mention as a "power that isn't."