As part of the research for an upcoming Robin Masters novel, Higgins contacts a witness in the 1942 murder of a WWII Japanese internment camp inmate by a civilian guard and soon after is badly injured in an accident when the Ferrari's brakes fail. When the mechanic confirms that someone has tampered with the car, Magnum sets out to find who wants to stop Higgins's research and uncovers blackmail and shady politics at the center of the case.