Emily van buren reveals her darkest secret to her daughter, allison, during her last minutes of life. she tells allison that her father may still be alive and that she is the illegitimate child of one of the members of the table of twenty, an international commission of twenty of the world's wealthiest men. to find and identify her father, allison discards her image of beautiful palm beach heiress and assumes a role of super sleuth. during her background research of the members, she becomes intrigued with the labyrinthine workings and unlimited control of the table. after two years of searching, her surprise arrival into the lives of these twenty men at their secluded paradise presents a multiplicity of power struggles and complex dilemmas. brought together by opportunity, allison van buren and frank burnett are the integral thread by which the discovery, explication and appraisal of these twenty men evolves. their unresolved love for each other is yet another part of the complicated web of the rich and ruthless.