This is an insider's account of the regulation of the medical profession in Australia and key issues in medical ethics and professional conduct that continue to bedevil medical practice. As memoir, the story traces the unusual development of an accidental ethicist whose career was strongly influenced by serendipity. As social history, it traces changes in medical regulation that have led to an unsatisfactory national registration scheme. It identifies matters deserving closer attention including the influence of the pharmaceutical industry, the harm resulting from misconduct in medical research and from sexual misconduct, and the need for a no-fault compensation scheme for medical injury.