Riley Burke has it all: a successful advertising agency, a beautiful house, a trim sailboat, and a gorgeous wife. But no longer sure of his wife's love, he begins an affair, the first in their ten-year marriage. As Riley and his would-be lover wait on the dock in Newport Harbor for the launch to his boat, a young man nearby is attacked by a brutal thug. When Riley intervenes, he finds himself inextricably drawn into a chain of events that will change his life forever; he finds himself, suddenly, in dangerous waters.

Following a chilling, bewildering trail of deception and murder, he confronts the devastation brought about by his own betrayal and forms a terrible plan for justice. If only he can just stay one step ahead of the police and the killer. If only he can stay one step ahead of his friends. But he soon learns the price to save the tattered remains of all that he loves may cost him everything—including his life.