A cynical Miami lawyer finds himself embroiled in possible terrorism after he agrees to represent a client whose husband was killed on a Cuban oil rig. Miami-based attorney Jack Swyteck should be a happy guy. He and his FBI agent wife Andi are honeymooning in the Florida Keys and the outside world seems far away. But then an oil rig located just off the Cuban coast explodes and Andi Henning is called back to Washington for some mysterious case. Left on his own, Jack is convinced to help local barmaid Bianca file a wrongful death suit in U.S. court. Her husband was one of the men who died on the rig.
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Assisted by his best friend/sidekick Theo, Jack first tries to take on the oil rig owners - a consortium between Cuba, Venezuela, China and Russia - but is surprised to learn the Cuban government is arguing Bianca was no longer married to the man. That send Jack and Theo off on a clandestine trip to Cuba in order to uncover the truth. They uncover documents that prove Bianca was indeed married to the man, but before they can leave the country they are kidnapped and held by a mysterious man who claims he knows the identity of the people responsible for the explosion and the oil spill. But it will cost the U.S. government $10 million to get the info.
That claim brings Andi back into the picture, as the case seems to have some connection to a counterfeit good ring she has been investigating in New York City. Assisted by the FBI, Jack follows the trail to the Bahamas, in search of the identity of whomever opened an account in the name of the dead oil rig worker. They convince the bank owner to tell them what he knows, but when he ends up dead that night, Theo is arrested for the murder.
Only a last minute deal with the FBI gets Theo out of the Bahamas before being arrested. They head to Cuba in order to find the final clues to solve the case. But their main witness/source turns up dead and the FBI then decides the case is over and wants to return Theo back to the Bahamas. Theo goes on the run in Cuba and Jack returns to the U.S. where he finds the last piece of info he needs to solve the case. It turns out that despite the worries of the FBI and the U.S. Government, the oil rig explosion wasn't caused by terrorism. It was the result of a vendetta by a man who had been falsely imprisoned in Guantanemo for eight years. He saw this event as a way to make the U.S. Government pay for what they did and he was willing to kill as many people as necessary to make it happen.
He is arrested, but it also means that Jack's case will be thrown out of court. Bianca is upset, but also happy to learn that her dead husband really was in love with her. And speaking of love, Jack and Andi get to end their honeymoon in style now that the case is over.
Best part of story, including ending:
The chemistry between Jack and Theo is very entertaining. Theo has this sarcastic, world-weary attitude that drives Jack up the wall. He never knows when to be quiet and that uncertainty is fun to read.
Best scene in story:
I enjoyed the descriptions of Key West as the oil spill gorws closer. The frantic media presence, the weird vibe of the crowd makes it seems like part Mardi Gras and post post-Katrina.
Opinion about the main character:
Jack and Andi seem like a great couple. They work well together and it's nice to see a couple who can work to opposite purposes professionally without it ruining their relationship.
