Roger, a well-known tv actor on the soap Babylon Revisited, meets Denise on vacation in Nassau. Denise manages the dolphin show for the resort, but is, in fact, a frustrated actress. Roger says he will find work for her on TV. The novel flows in three parts:

Part One: Keely (played by Denise) has a sister who is murdered in Babylon Revisited in a highly unusual manner. Roger (playing Armand, a private eye) will uncover the murderer whose exceptional use of a dog bearing a virus makes the murder happen.

Part Two: Roger (playing Benjamin) and Denise star in a full-length play heading for Broadway called Wars of Independence. Denise plays the role of Marcella, a student at the college where Roger is teaching. They fall in love and after a rather torturous relationship, marry. Marcella cheats on Benjamin. Benjamin, incensed and brooding, plans revenge and finds a way to pay back his unfaithful spouse in a most unusual, brutal manner.

Part Three: Roger and Denise have a rocky personal relationship outside of their work. Intimacy is an issue for Roger. Can they succeed despite this impediment?