Make-or-break decisions involving millions of dollars are all in a day's
work for Christian Gillette, chairman of Everest Capital, New York's
most renowned private equity firm. He's taken on the toughest, most
powerful, and often most dangerous adversaries and prevailed-all the
while honing his skill for being cool under fire, literally. But now
Gillette will be put to the ultimate test. He's offered the chance to
seal a deal unlike any other, one that goes beyond boardrooms, balance
sheets, and even Everest itself-one that will leave its mark on history.
Gillette is no stranger to Jesse Wood, the first African American
president of the United States, having been Wood's chosen running mate
in his historic bid for the White House. Though still slightly upset
over being dropped from the ticket at the eleventh hour, Gillette's not
about to ignore the chief executive's summons to a top-secret meeting at
Camp David. There, Wood drops a bombshell: The president of Cuba is
dead. Cuba's communist regime has kept the dictator's demise hush while
it races to fill the power vacuum. And the United States is poised to
support a cabal of Cuban professionals plotting a coup. The President
wants Gillette to meet with the conspirators and size up the chances for
a successful capitalist revolution. But by no means can his mission be
traced back to the White House. If anything goes wrong, Gillette is on
his own.
And if certain people have their way, something will go wrong. For the
conspiracy to liberate Cuba isn't the only one afoot. Enemies in high
places, who will go to any lengths to wreak revenge on Gillette and to
unseat President Wood, have set in motion a campaign of deception,
sabotage, and murder whose shockwaves will resonate from the streets of
Havana to the Oval Office. But for Gillette, who has just named his
alluring and ambitious protégé, Allison Wallace, as his successor at
Everest, the greatest peril may lie much closer to home.
The Successor is blue-chip Stephen Frey, marshaling his flawless
instincts for edgy, provocative, breathtaking suspense with a master's
touch.
