To Save a Son — Brian Freemantle

Desperate for worldwide success, a businessman places himself in the hands of the unforgiving mafia

Born a refugee, Eddie Franks intends to live like a Rockefeller. He wants wealth, not for its own sake but because it means never having to be like his father, who fled Nazi Germany only to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder. For most of his childhood, Eddie was raised by the Scargos, an American family whose patriarch kept his real son, Nicky, in constant competition with Eddie. Their battle has never ended.

Though now an internationally successful hotel magnate, Eddie still feels the need to outdo Nicky. At his stepbrother's suggestion, he goes into business in the Americas, opening a cruise company in the Caribbean. Expansion is the name of the game, and Nicky offers financing, with strings attached. The money is an investment from organized crime, and Eddie is unaware that the interest will be paid in blood.