In the world of securities law, there is no attorney more accomplished than the brilliant and beautiful, Susanna Sloane. Since her marriage to attorney and renowned sports agent, Rusty Byers, she has been practicing law in New York City, utilizing his office, and telecommunicating with her home office in Palm Beach, Florida. A new client calls with a complaint against his stockbroker, who, he says, has been issuing false account statements to his clientele for years. He says he has lost over twenty million dollars. He introduced the broker to many of his friends, who have also lost millions. All seek representation by Susanna.
Armed with evidence of fraud, Susanna confronts the head of the legal department of the securities firm, Chandler & Sons, an old Wall Street firm. She comes away from her meeting with a check in the amount of one million dollars, payable to her. Chandler has hired her to find the missing broker and the money with which he absconded, an unknown amount, possibly as much as seven hundred million dollars.
At a New Year’s Eve party Susanna encounters one of the richest men in the world, Greek billionaire Adnan Stephanides. He offers to assist her in locating the funds. At first she refuses, then agrees. She begins her quest in Liechtenstein, surmising that the broker was attracted by the lenient banking laws and the absence of an extradition treaty with the United States. Stephanides is influential with the Liechtenstein bankers, who cooperate in locating some of the missing funds and wiring them back to banks in the United States. Susanna finds herself attracted to the Greek and begins an affair with him.
The next place to search for the balance of the funds is on Cyprus. Stephanides tells her he has a relative from whose home they can operate. Susanna declines, goes to Cyprus independently, and is joined there by her husband. A confrontation arises between Rusty and the Greek, in which Stephanides informs him he has been having an affair with Susanna, which she vehemently denies.
The broker is on Cyprus and has made a deal with a vicious Russian Mafioso to engage in a heroin for cocaine swap which will, if successful, compensate for the funds Susanna wired out of his account in Liechtenstein. The Central Intelligence Agency enlists her cooperation and that of Stephanides in thwarting the drug deal. The CIA agents convince Rusty to return home, and arrange a meeting at the Greek’s home between the gangster, the broker, Susanna, and themselves.
Things go badly when the Mafioso learns that the letter of credit taken out by the broker to pay for the heroin was bogus, and that Stephanides had used his influence with the bank to issue it. The Russian has been paid by the Colombians for his effort in brokering the deal, and fears that the Colombians will come after him. The broker is convinced to turn himself in to the American Consulate for protection against the Mafioso. Stephanides has the Cyprus bank wire the broker’s funds to the States, exactly as he had done in Liechtenstein.
Susanna returns home to learn that the furious Russian Mafioso has put out a contract on her and Stephanides. The CIA agents suggest they use the Greek’s yacht for escape while the CIA attempts to locate and eliminate him. Rusty, in her absence, learns that she has been having an affair with the Greek, confronts her upon her return, and enraged, files for divorce.
She tries the cases against Chandler, finally having to appeal the verdict. She attempts to keep busy with her caseload, refusing to see Stephanides, and wishing for a reconciliation with Rusty, which comes about with the help of an avuncular family court mediator in New York.
Susanna has managed to survive—again!
樂天KOBO
