Italian-born Mina Calvi lives in a mansion in idyllic Orange County, California with her protective older sister, Paola.

Unemployed again and aimless, Mina can't seem to find her niche in her adopted country, but confusion and restlessness soon become the least of her problems.

Someone is stealing from the software business owned by Paola and her husband, losses so great the business is sinking like the Titanic. And the strange death of a company employee turns out to be murder.

Then, while facing a loss so terrible she can't bear it, Mina discovers an old family secret that turns her world upside down. There's some solace in the arms of her blue-eyed lover, amateur sleuth Brian Starr, but danger still stalks her at every turn, edging closer and closer as Mina tries to untangle the web of lies, adultery and treachery, and put her life back together.