John Stella goes from his home in Hamilton New Hampshire to Sarasota Florida to look into the murder of a friend's sister. There he begins to work with the local police and in particular Detective Sargeant Ellie Grasso. He is immediately taken with the sheer beauty of the town and the sheer corruption of its ruling elite. With the help of a grizzled local reporter, he begins to realize the potential connections that might have produced the murder...