MacArthur "Mac" Crandall, 34 years old, 6 feet tall, brown hair, hazel eyes, muscular and swarthy, war veteran, a Navy Seal, now a private investigator residing in Tarpon Springs, Florida. He is a man with everything. A well-stocked and well-appointed Gulfside office-apartment, a 35-foot yacht named The Small Diversion, a modest bank account, and an abundance of spare time. He also has a reputation for discretely solving problems.

Mac's old friend, Detective Jack Haskill, presents him with one of those problems. A manila envelope full of crime scene photos. A young woman, Carla Katsaros, the daughter of a wealthy and influential businessman, killed professionally and with no apparent motive or suspects.

Mac sets out on the hunt for the killer following a trail that leads to the killer's next target, Mara Grable, an attractive young receptionist. Mac protects but soon falls in love with Mara. In a game of cat and mouse that takes him to the Bahamas, he finds himself in the killer's crosshairs.