A retired land developer and millionaire, Robert Mallon has been living peacefully in Santa Barbara, CA, for a decade. Then one day on the beach, he meets a young woman whom he saves from suicide. A few hours later, however, she shoots herself, and Robert feels that he should have done more to help her. Guilt drives him to hire his old partner and now a private investigator, Lydia Marks, to help him uncover what motivated Catherine Broward. They find that her last year included time spent at a California ranch specializing in teaching rigorous self-defense. A visit to the ranch is soon followed by an attempt on Robert's life, and he finds himself pursued over Southern California. Perry, an Edgar Award winner and creator of the Jane Whitefield mystery series, never writes the same book twice, and here he chooses a theme that most Americans would probably find implausible. However, in his capable hands the plot becomes totally engrossing and believable. The reader remains gripped in unending suspense and a shocking denouement.