Hickory Stic is a novel about revenge deferred. It concerns Leonard Merygates, a shy, retired highschool administrator who feels that had corporal punishment been sustained in America's public school systems, the country would not be in the condition it is today. Children would respect adults; adults would embrace social and cultural values beyond material wealth, and the streets of Hamilton City (USA) would be a lot safer. Hickory Stick also concerns the adventures of HCPD homicide detectives, Walter T. Fleischmann and Willis Loveday, who must find the vigilante that is ridding Hamilton City of its social detritus before he kills someone else.