A graduate student at NYU completing his Ph.D. studies believes that he knows the location of a lost fragment of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf. At great expense, he organizes an archaeological expedition to England to locate the parchment that will secure his degree. But after two years of futility, the dig turns up nothing. Prompted by his friend who was also on the dig, he decides to fake the document and hires a skilled forger to create it. The forgery fools his doctoral committee and he is awarded his degree. In fear that the forgery will eventually be discovered, he is convinced that anyone who was on the unsuccessful dig or had anything to do with the fake document must be eliminated—and quickly. So begins a series of serial killings that brings together Deputy Chief Mag Goldman of the NYPD and Professor Bradley Davison of Queens College. Davison, who has consulted with the police on numerous other cases, must now help Mag’s ‘flying squad’ of homicide detectives learn the identity of the killer. But will Brad figure out who the killer is before he strikes again? Cover Art: Beowulf’s kinsman Wiglaf slays the dragon as the hero is engulfed in killing flames.