After being dumped by his girlfriend in the middle of dinner at Elaine's, attorney Stone Barrington jumps at the opportunity to take on an assignment in Key West. It seems a simple task; obtain the signature of Evan Keating on a document needed by his father, Warren, so the family business can be sold. Of course Stone invites his friend, NYPD Captain Dino Bachetti, to tag along.
They arrive at the Conch Republic and almost immediately run into Evan. The problem is, Evan doesn’t want to be found. As Stone confronts the elusive man, someone sneaks up behind him and hits him on the head knocking him out cold. With the aid of a beautiful Swedish doctor, Stone comes to. Obviously, things are not going to be as easy as he had hoped. Now the problem is, he must not only find Evan again but must find out why there was such a drastic reaction to the request of a signature. When he finally meets up with Evan again, Stone learns that if Evan signs the document, he will receive only a tiny percentage of what the company is worth. He also discovers that Evan’s father has had his paternal grandfather committed to an institution in order to get him out of the way of the sale. As Stone tries to sort out the complicated situation, hit on Evan’s life fails although an innocent bystander is killed. Although his father was responsible for setting the initial events in motion, the plan backfires putting both father and son in danger. Its up to Stone and Dino to protect Evan while bringing the killers out in the open.
This is is great read; one of Stuart Woods’ best!

Of all his lead characters, I think I prefer the Stone Barrington novels, although I do enjoy all of them. This one is particularly good, with lots of twists and turns as Stone and Dino try to sort it all out, with the help of an old friend, Tommy Sculley who retired to Key West, got bored and joined the local force. Hang on for a good book full of surprises.