Originally published in hardcover in 1990 by St. Martin's Press.

Marine biologist Doc Ford helps his uncle and his uncle's friends fight land developers in Florida and gets involved in an unusual kidnapping.

The eagerly-awaited follow-up to Sanibel Flats from the author the Tampa Tribune-Times calls "the rightful heir to John D. MacDonald". When Doc Ford's friend--the simplest and sweetest resident of Sanibel Island--is framed for murder, Doc heads to Florida's dark side to save him and the island from a rising tide of land-grab schemes, blood money, and violence. Martin's.

"Unforgettable battles with the fascinating silver king."

The seductive daughter of a dead war buddy calls marine biologist Doc Ford in need of help--her mother has vanished without a trace in South America. Doc's efforts to find her take him from the jungles of Colombia to the streets of Panama--and onto the trail of the most vile nemesis he has ever come up against...

The sins of the past come back to haunt Doc Ford and his old friend Tomlinson in this thrilling novel from New York Times-bestselling author Randy Wayne White, now in paperback. Marine biologist and former government agent Doc Ford is sure he's beyond the point of being surprised by his longtime pal Tomlinson's madcap tales of his misspent youth. But he's stunned anew when avowed bachelor Tomlinson reveals that as a younger man strapped for cash, he'd unwittingly fathered multiple children via for-profit sperm bank donations. Thanks to genealogy websites, Tomlinson's now-grown offspring have tracked him down, seeking answers about their roots. . . but Doc quickly grows suspicious that one of them might be planning something far more nefarious than a family reunion. With recent history on his mind, Doc is unsurprised when his own dicey past is called into question. Months ago, he'd quietly "liberated" a cache of precious Spanish coins from a felonious treasure hunter, and now a number of unsavory individuals, including a disgraced IRS investigator and a corrupt Bahamian customs agent, are after their cut. Caught between watching his own back and Tomlinson's, Doc has no choice but to get creative--before rash past decisions escalate to deadly present-day dangers.

Doc Ford has his share of secrets. One of them has returned with a vengeance in this deadly New York Times bestseller from Randy Wayne White. While trying to solve one of Florida’s most profound mysteries, Doc Ford is the target of a murder attempt by someone who wants to make it look like an accident. Or is the target actually his friend Tomlinson? Whatever the answer, the liveaboards and fishing guides at Dinkin’s Bay on Sanibel Island are becoming increasingly nervous—and wary—after a plane crash and other near-death incidents make it apparent that Ford and Tomlinson are dangerous companions. What their small family of friends doesn’t know is that their secret pasts make it impossible for them to seek help from the law. There is an assassin on the loose, and it is up to Doc and Tomlinson to find a killer before the grisly job is done.