Sebastian Locke, the fifty-six-year-old patriarch of a powerful American family, is handsome, charismatic, and a man of immense charm and intelligence. He is the chairman of the philanthropic Locke Foundation, funded by the vast family fortune built by his forefathers. Committed to relieving the suffering of those in genuine need, Locke travels the globe giving away millions a year to the poor, the sick, and the innocent victims of natural disasters and wars. He is seen as a beacon of light in today's darkly violent world. That is why the police are profoundly baffled when Sebastian Locke is found dead at his country estate under mysterious circumstances. Has he been murdered? And if so, who would have wanted to kill the world's greatest philanthropist? Could such an upstanding man have had enemies? Vivienne Trent, an American journalist, had been fascinated by Locke as a child, married him when she was a young woman, then later divorced him, but had always stayed close to him. Aware that there had been another side to this enigmatic man, she sets out to find the truth about his death and about Locke himself, much to the annoyance of his two grown children, who find her obsession irritating. As she prepares to write a profile of Locke for the London Sunday Times, Vivienne uncovers startling revelations, revelations that turn her life around.