Newly hired deputy Marla Easton and Sheriff Dugan Walton are amazed at the performance of Dr. Sylvester Hopkins in a local 5K footrace. At age 65, Hopkins posts a world-class time of 17:35, two minutes faster than he has run in the past few years. Walton suspects Hopkins has concocted some new performance-enhancing drug.

A trail of bodies from Frisco to Nags Head, North Carolina, leads Deputy Easton and Sheriff Walton to the discovery of the Methuselah serum a new drug designed by Hopkins that reverses aging in human cells. A nefarious triumvirate of pharmaceutical CEOs known as "the Medical Mafia" wants the formula at any price. So do the FBI and the president of the United States. But Sheriff Walton believes that he and Deputy Easton have been divinely chosen to guard the formula and serum, and they take their mission seriously much like the angels posted in Eden to guard the Tree of Life. Their mission turns perilous when Deputy Easton's seven-year-old son, Gabe, is kidnapped.

Murder at Hatteras tells the story of a young Ohio couple, Marla and Gabe Easton, who move to the Outer Banks to escape their stress-filled world in hopes of conceiving their first child. When Gabe discovers the body of a strangled girl along the beach, he fears the killer may live in his apartment complex and realizes Marla may be the fiend's next target. When the killer strikes again, this strange case takes on even darker tones. Hatteras Island, a narrow barrier strip of sand and marshland often exposed to dangerous hurricane winds is the perfect setting for this tale of twisting plotlines and ominous tone. Book reviewer and Hatteras Island resident, Gee Gee Rosell, commented, "Wow. This guy can write If you like any of the best selling suspense/mystery writers (Flynn, Coben, Child, Patterson) give Joe Ellis a try for a refreshing change. He's every bit as good and you'll also get a big dose of Hatteras Island color "