The Chippendale

Dima Chernobelsky, son of Western Ukrainian immigrants, works as a stripper at a popular Chippendale show in Vegas. There he weds a Hollywood star-a merger that lasts only one night and leaves Dima the potential heir to millions.

Desiree Grant, wife of cutthroat lawyer Tommy Grant, cannot conceive and believes her husband is unfaithful. She hires the services of Dr. Nicholas Green and a surrogate mother for the first problem. For the second, she turns to a private detective.

Linda Bright is a woman without a past or a permanent place of residence. Angry at the world, she believes Tommy Grant offers the key to her origins. Given the lawyer's questionable behavior as well as some tapes she got her hands on, Linda is sure they can come to an arrangement.

As these disparate individuals pursue their own goals and vendettas, shadowy hands control and manipulate their actions, influencing them through the one thing they have all have in common-a secret none of them know.

Translated by Mark Berelekhis and originally published in Russian, Boris J. Kurland's "The Chippendale" is a taut thriller centered on the assimilation of Russian immigrants into American society with a terrifying twist.