A girl running from her past meets up with a man eager to change the future, and as they begin to fall in love, she agonizes over the dark secrets that might come between them, and becomes determined to stop the criminals from her past from ruining the good work her boyfriend is doing Denise is a beautiful Italian-American girl from New York, a marine biologist who has moved to the Bahamas temporarily to escape her mafia-associated past on Staten Island and start afresh with wonderful new opportunities in her career. She is going to participate in a project with Jake, an oceanographer who is studying how the chemical composition of sea water has changed due to the dumping of toxic waste and how that is affecting marine animals.
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Jake and Denise hit it off immediately. He's a handsome, highly intelligent, and challenges her, and Denise loves that. She also loves his idealistic passion and dedication to his work ethic, and they develop an intense sexual chemistry.
Things begin to go awry when Denise is contacted by Paulie, a member of the mob back in New York. The company that has been dumping toxic waste in the ocean has mobsters as many of its shareholders, and Paulie warns Denise that if she releases a report as a result of her and Jake's research that causes the stock value of the company to plummet and legal problems for the company, he'll kill her - and worse, he'll kill Jake. Denise becomes terrified for Jake's safety, since she has begun to fall for him and it is clear that he is falling for her, and agrees to fabricate false data that shows no indications of toxic waste dumping. She lives in terror of Jake finding out what she has been doing, even as their relationship progresses, and eventually one night she confesses the truth, unable to bear it anymore as he excitedly discusses how his findings will change American industry and environmental protection laws.
Jake and Denise get into a fight and Denise says she'll pack up and leave, but instead Jake stops her, and tells her he won't let her endanger herself, and in the heat of the moment and swept up in their emotions, they have sex. Then Jake comes up with a plan. All further conversations with Paulie and other mobsters are recorded, and Jake keeps the FBI informed. Finally they fly back to New York under the pretense of handing over their real data to the mobsters as a sign of good faith, knowing that the FBI cannot help them in the Bahamas, and at the assigned meeting spot, the authorities arrest the mobsters. Jake protects Denise from the ensuing gun battle and is injured in the arm. As he recuperates later in the hospital, he asks Denise to marry him, and she says yes.
Best part of story, including ending:
I like that Jake and Denise had a nerdy bond over their professional/intellectual interests
Best scene in story:
When Jake and Denise discuss tidal movements and wave properties and how it affects the migration and feeding patterns of aquatic animals, I thought that was fascinating.
Opinion about the main character:
I liked Jake's idealism.
