A Matter of Circumstance: A Novel

In A Matter of Circumstance Thomas Simpson, the director of communications at Sessions University, finds himself in turmoil as the new academic year begins. He and his best friend, cancer researcher, Zoltan Vastag, a politically incorrect Hungarian, spent the previous year caught unwittingly in a U.S. espionage plot to place spies in Sessions' international centers. Now he and Zoltan must deal with the plot's continuing cover-up. They must also deal with their new president, a very capable administrator but one who is viewed by the faculty as a common operator, and whose obesity and demeaning sense of humor set just the wrong tone for his administration. The family of last year's provost, Samuel Kravitz, who committed suicide, suspects foul play. They have hired a private investigation firm. Their representative who interviews Thomas is far more attractive than he had anticipated, creating an internal conflict as he deals with his family's dysfunction. Zoltan reveals that he has made a significant discovery and is in a Phase I human trial of a possible cancer vaccine. Pharmaceutical companies are lining up and in some cases are providing ethical and unethical inducements for their company to be chosen to help develop the vaccine. Enter the vice chair of the board, Mark Berger, an erstwhile Jewish Bostonian multi-billionaire alumnus, who helped Sessions University resolve last year's scandal. Berger has become close friends with Thomas and Zoltan and serves as their guardian angel. They partner to save themselves, friends and families, and the university.