Daniel Loew, a poet based in London, has been told since childhood that one day he would become his wealthy uncle's only heir. When he learns of his uncle's death, in Caracas, a few weeks have since passed. A close friend of his uncle's tells Loew that he alone has been named executor of the will and blocks Loew from receiving his inheritance.

In a harrowing chase from Venezuela to Miami, via Hamburg and Panama City, on a background of political upheavals as Hugo Chavez attempts and fails his 1992 military coup, Loew leads a desperate fight to regain his considerable inheritance.