Harry Stone, chancer and property developer, sets his sights on buying Marine House, a Regency mansion on Brighton seafront. Converted into flats it will make him money. But he is finding it difficult to scrape together £2.5m, not least because he owes it big time to a crime lord. The vendor, Lady Ruth Jackson, won't sell to him; she has heard of his dubious past

But Stone is not going to let the chance go. Shady stock market deals, diamonds traded from the Caribbean, and dropping sweeteners to Lady Ruth's children, come easily to him as part of his twisted scheming and plotting.

With a growing health problem, Stone tries to entice Claire, his onetime PA, back to help him chase his dream. But Claire is battling growing insecurity in her relationship with her wealthy partner, and when she finds a sneaky moneymaking scam Stone is running right under her nose, what retribution will she extract?

Stone watches helpless as his last chance to get Marine House vanishes. Until one day there is a knock on his front door...