The unexpected suicide of billionaire philanthropist Sebastian Locke troubles Vivienne Trent, who knows that only some horrible revelation could have motivated his self-destruction. Vivienne investigates, and along the way readers share the perspectives of Sebastian's two children before a mysterious countess provides a horrifying explanation. The facile psychological explanations, laced with jargon to explain Sebastian's inability to love, may grate on some readers. A series of improbable coincidences and the large age gaps between sexual partners that figure in the plot resolution may bother others. Still, the central drive to solve the riddle pulls the reader along. Hints of the next Locke generation plus a romance in progress for Vivienne point to a sequel.

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