World Without End — Nancy Madison

After disastrous first marriages to others, a tale told in World Enough and Time, Tom and Mattie Mahon marry at last. They plan to start a new business in Rio. But Randolph Carlisle, former friend of Tom Mahon from the POW Camp in Maryland is still lurking in Brazil. When he sees Tom and Mattie Mahon's names in the Belem Brazil paper in an article about wealthy norteamericanos settling there, he decides he's tired of high-stakes poker games. Kidnaping wealthy men's wives for ransom might be a more pleasant and profitable way to earn his living. And why not start with Mattie, his ex-wife?