July 17, 1977, Santa Monica, California Twenty-one-year-old college student, Paul Townsend is living an idyllic life on the sun drenched sands that meet the blue Pacific, his biggest concern being an increasingly complex love life. There's Renee Ayers, a seventeen-year-old beauty that he works with and can't seem to resist. Then there's Lori Lewis, the first real love of his life, reappearing after three years. Finally, Jennifer Ryan, the famous actress, may be trying to seduce him. But Paul's life is about to be turned upside down. One hot summer day, a large man in a suit and tie walks toward the volleyball courts of Sorrento Beach. He demands a private meeting with Jack Rosen, the closest thing to a father Paul has ever known. Jack leaves with the stranger and does not return. Days pass and Jack is still missing. When the police fail to turn up a lead, it's left to Paul to track him down, unwittingly thrusting him into a high stakes game of international intrigue. Can Paul discover Jack's great secret that will explain his disappearance? And is there a murderer in their midst? The angry paparazzo? The unbalanced neighbor? The jilted ex-lover? Will Paul be able to unravel the mystery ... before it's too late for Jack?