John Harper has always been alone. His mother died when he was just seven years old and he was raised in New York by an aunt he barely knew. He never even made his father's acquaintance - a man who died shortly after he was born. After leaving the Big Apple as soon as he was old enough, his life consisted of one moderately successful book, a collection affectionately received newspaper columns and a comfortable existence in Miami. But then all that changed. One liquor store heist that goes wrong turns John's existence on its head. It seems that his father didn't die all those years ago - in fact, he has thrived in the New York underworld. But now the man himself lies critically injured in a Manhattan hospital and it's time for father and son to meet at last. But this is just the start. For it seems that John's father was working on something when he got caught in the heist - something very big indeed. And powerful people all over the city want in on it. The only problem is that the only person with the key to it is John...