Lawton Treadwell 'LT ' Close is a lawyer and a well-known consultant to the rich and pampered in New York City. Their names and faces constantly appear in the headlines, but LT sees them regularly in his office. He knows how the crime game is played-and sometimes the game is deadly.

It's 1995, the economy is overheated, and someone is masterminding the thefts of famous paintings. The last person who attempted to uncover the thief's identity is dead. Now it's LT's turn to start asking the questions. He faces this challenge with only Max Kelly, his trusted man-of-action; Dickie Douglas, his new age personal trainer; and Teddy Martin-Smyth, his industrial designer girlfriend, whose designs include marriage by any means.

This small band of misfits must somehow survive and prevail in the land of celebrities, artists, socialites, entertainers, and powerful, sinister forces at play just beneath the gold leaf veneer of the Hamptons. A killer with a penchant for expensive art is loose in this playground for the rich and famous, and LT has to figure out how to keep himself-and everyone else-alive.