Unraveled — Michael Stark

Daniel saw the job as an opportunity, a chance to learn his way around the legal world under the guidance of Johnnie Wells, one of the most successful divorce attorneys in South Florida. Brilliant and ruthless, Wells held nothing sacred, employing tactics so shocking and brutal that the mention of his name was enough to send most to the bargaining table.

In an office where the staff runs scared, Daniel carves out a relationship with Johnnie built upon a grudging respect and a mutual understanding. Johnnie knows Daniel won't compromise on his ethics and will walk if he pushes him too far. Daniel knows he is learning from a master. The uneasy alliance between them balances on a thin strip of moral ground neither can bridge. Both understand their relationship will eventually end, but when and how, neither knows.

It doesn't take Daniel long to realize that every move Johnnie makes has a motive. Every action he takes has a place in the plan - even when he introduces Daniel to his ex-wife Linda, even when he tells Daniel about the hours and hours of videotape he found of her with her last employer. None of what he hears makes sense. None of it meshes with the woman he is coming to know. As their relationship grows, time in the office becomes more and more uncomfortable, to the point that Daniel knows he must leave if he and Linda are to stay together. When he does, he goes home to North Carolina, taking not only years of experience with him, but a new wife.

Determined to escape the stain Johnnie left on them both, they take time to build a home and a life together. Linda lays the groundwork for a non-profit organization centered on building homes for the needy. Daniel opens a new practice, with the intent of diverting a hefty portion of his time into legal services to the poor. Before long however, he stumbles head first into the middle of a trial fraught with sexual betrayal. The sinuous web of manipulation and deceit he discovers is one where everyone has something to hide and the answers seem to cover more than they expose. With time running out he turns back to Johnnie, hoping the man can work some of his magic and help him find the truth. What he doesn't know is that the truth will lead him to a stunning conclusion, one that teaches him how deep and dark the waters of seduction can run, and where everything he has ever known or loved will be put on the line.