What begins as a shocking discovery of a drowning victim in a private lake in rural Ontario leads into a web of crime and politics with wider city, provincial, and even international complications. Mr. Lannigan of Lannigan and Ferris, a powerful business empire based in Toronto, but the target of veiled U.S. interests, finds his secluded semi-retirement haven north of the City invaded by platoons of police from local towns and by provincial detectives. They are trying to solve the mysteries surrounding the gruesome death on a property which was set up to protect Lannigan from the outside world, as well as to satisfy a hobby dear to this prominent but secretive citizen in his old age. Morgan Streit, an up and coming executive of Lannigan and Ferris, is charged with the job of winning the Toronto riding of the Finance Minister, whose re-election would serve the needs of the corporation and its U.S. interested party. His involvement with and his uneasy sense of responsibility for his wife's au pair girl drag him into depths ahead for them both. In the end, Mr. Roger Ducharme, the ruthless private secretary for Mr. Lannigan, along with his physically imposing and brutal chauffeur, Spade, may meet the ugly fates they truly deserve. But perhaps it is Mr. Lannigan himself who best survives the terrible events, riding his favorite hobby to rest in a place of quiet comfort where his partner Mr. Ferris has found peace before him. Other works by F.W. Watt: Heads or Tails 23 Stories After the Funeral Loving Daughters The Road to Sutton The Youth Drug Joking Matters Where is Julius