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Jeff Chaussier, journeyman-actor, part-time sleuth, full-time New Orleanian, sits on his patio in the French Quarter on a bright sunny, dark day. The woman he loves is gone. The life he has built is in tatters. And someone is responsible. Unknown sinister forces have assailed him for years. He has sleepwalked through life, not knowing who or what dogs his every step, attacking him and the woman he loves. The enemy is persistent, powerful and implacable. He has taken the life of Jeff's father, the mind of the woman Jeff loves, and the life Jeff has built. Jeff can crumple under the forces pressing in on him or he can begin again. Bryna, his estranged wife, is somehow key to solving the problem and defeating an enemy who will not die, but she will have nothing to do with Jeff or their new child, the events that sent her into a mental institution weigh so heavily on her. The only person in her life is her mysterious "doctor" who controls her life as he uses her body. How he came to be in charge of her care is unknown. The doctor is a stranger to New Orleans but he has a powerful patron who has placed him in a position where he controls the lives of Bryna and Jeff. Jeff is in despair, his life shattered by an enemy who flaunts his control of his wife, set on them by a power that has tracked them for years. Jeff has neither money or power, but he has the most valuable commodity you can have in New Orleans. He has his family and friends to assist him. A diverse mix of allies come to his aid: his politician uncle; his brothers--a genius paraplegic, a musician, a firefighter, an architect, a retired Navy man, and his mother, wielding a wooden spoon that hurts when slammed on your knuckles. Jeff's friends run the gamut of New Orleans residents: an ex-Marine female impersonator and his wife and son; a three hundred pound pool player; a police captain who only wants to catch redfish; "Paul Bunyan," a huge longshoreman; Jimmy Hong, a jazz-playing doctor; "Padrino," a man of wealth and power from a source never mentioned; and, Don, director of the theatre and Jeff's long-time friend, Don, a source of advice, support, and the person who hires Rita, Jeff's college love, to appear in his next production. Though Jeff resists her attraction, Bryna has left; old love never dies; they re-unite, even as both know Bryna is his true love. Bryna, escapes the clutches of her "doctor" and Rita returns to New York, carrying her love for Jeff with her, leaving a renewed Jeff to solve the riddle. The mystery of Jeff's enemy is tied up with Bryna and the hidden factors in her life that have scarred her. Her "doctor" removed, Jeff's friend Doctor Jimmy provides the key to Bryna's history and the evil surrounding her. After an attempt to kill Jeff is foiled, Jeff finds and faces the eminence grise who has ruined her life. Though he cannot exact revenge others can. The threat is eased but not completely removed and Jeff and Bryna try to start over. As does Rita, which presents a dilemma to be faced in the future.