Billionaire inventor Chase Gordon has just turned forty - and everything in his ordered little world is going to hell in an Hermßes bag. His acerbic English butler Juliet Lavish has decided to retire. The humanitarian church founded by his late parents has suddenly gone broke. In Honduras. In the middle of the jungle. Lastly, NYPD detective Brian Schrade wants to use Chase's palatial mansion to hide Walter Godfrey, a newspaper reporter who might know something about a recent rash of mob-related business deals. Part of the deal is the conniving, misanthropic Alec Pratt, son of a local newspaper mogul and unapologetic police informant who just might have a teensy-weensy crush on Brian Schrade. But Walter isn't safe, not at Chase's residence or anywhee else. His too-frequent forays into the city - against Brian Schrade's advice-make him a target, and his strong attraction to Chase Gordon is setting him up for some serious heartbreak. When Chase goes to Honduras to investigate the state of his family's failing fortunes, there's more trouble: Chase has been set up for kidnapping.