Alex Cazenove's past comes back to haunt the seraglio when his longtime friend, the Corsican spy Marco, embroils them in an obscure tussle with the French authorities. The violent beauty Nia fights off the initial assault, but Italy still leaves the clan vulnerable. Alex's favorite Swiss bankers, Anastasia and Olivia, step in to find them a refuge overlooking Lake Lugano in southern Switzerland. Even so, how can Alex be expected to juggle all the personalities flying about his head, when nothing is as it seems. Every one of his friends and lovers sports their own subtle agenda, for both better and worse. As usual it looks like Alice either has, or is, the solution. If only she'll put down her Kama Sutra long enough to enlighten Alex's weary soul.