Darry Ash is in antiques, but in a small way. He lives in the suburbs with his wife and daughter. He dreams of escaping from his humdrum life by becoming a successful, published poet, but the rejection slips mount up. Against character, he begins a passionate and dangerous affair with his assistant, Janie, which causes Darry's life to nose-dive into chaos. His business is in debt, Janie-vivacious, depressive and determined to wrest Darry away from his family-is a lot more trouble than he thought, and he gets no sympathy from his old friend George, who has troubles of his own. Diving for sunken treasure in Thailand with his old business partner Tom seems the obvious solution. Somehow he will find in the depths of the sea a place to hide from everything that's gone wrong with his life. But on the dive Darry finds his problems have only just begun. Following a mysterious murder, he is forced to reassess his relationships and endure unimaginable horrors in unravelling the truth behind the crime.