Jesse McDermitt has done it. He has escaped the ugliness so pervasive in modern society, and along with his family and a few close friends, they have set out aboard a boat he designed himself for living long periods totally off the grid.

The first couple of months are peaceful, uneventful, and by today's standards, quite boring. But the crew of Taranis have the sun, sea, and quiet coves to explore, where there aren't even any footprints in the sand.

Until they reach their destination.

The island of Dominica, in the middle of the Leeward Islands, rises straight up out of the Caribbean, with volcanic peaks shrouded in mist from the many steam vents and Boiling Lake itself.

Little does McDermitt know, but the island is also a staging area for drugs and arms coming up out of South America. When a group of men on a luxury cruising yacht reveal clues as to who they really are, Jesse handles things in his trademark fashion... murder and mayhem in paradise.