The story of the doctor who faced charges of conspiracy after he assisted John Wilkes Booth by setting his broken leg after he had assassinated Abraham Lincoln.

Two scientists involved in chimpanzee research -- one maintaining that the animals should be kept in their native habitat in Africa without human interference, the other trying to train them in sign language in a domesticated atmosphere -- join forces when they learn that the government plans to cut off the language grant and use the chimps for radiation research.

Bull Webster is a taxi driver with some work problems on his hands: the Spider Corporation, a giant financial holding company, has decided to buy out his taxi co-operative in order to make it go bankrupt and purchase its land at a low cost.