Lawrence Kingston is asked to search fora botanist friend who has gone missing. With nothing but a scrap of paper with a bewildering cryptic message, he begins to investigate.He discovers that his friend was experimenting with aquatic plants and has stumbled on a horticultural breakthrough with staggering implications, one that could ultimately generate billions of dollars in revenue: a unique and giant form of Amazonian water lily.Convinced that influential people are involved in the disappearance, he pursues more leads,but circumstances beyond his control plunge him deeper into jeopardy and a corporate world of ruthless, greedy men who are not to be stopped. Kingston presses on, knowing that his missing friend's life--and his own--both hang by a very slender thread. As with the highly acclaimed The Lost Gardens , Eglin brings his botanical and literary skill to this new mystery.