John Harper has always been alone. His mother died when he was just seven years old and he was raised in New York by an aunt he barely knew. He never even made his fathers acquaintance - a man who died shortly after he was born. After leaving the Big Apple as soon as he was old enough, his life consisted of one moderately successful book, a collection of affectionately received newspaper columns and a comfortable existence in Miami.Then everything changes. A liquor store heist goes wrong - and turns Johns existence on its head. It seems that his father didnt die all those years ago. In fact, he has thrived in the New York underworld. But now the man himself lies critically injured in a Manhattan hospital and its time for father and son to meet at last . . .