When private investigator Tess Monaghan literally runs into
the crew of the fledgling TV series Mann of Steel
while sculling, she expects sharp words and evil looks,
not
an assignment. But the company has been plagued by a series
of
disturbing incidents since its arrival on location in
Baltimore: bad
press, union threats, and small, costly on-set "accidents"
that have
wreaked havoc with its shooting schedule. As a result,
Mann's
creator, Flip Tumulty, the son of a Hollywood legend, is
worried for
the safety of his young female lead, Selene Waites, and asks
Tess to
serve as her bodyguard/babysitter. Tumulty's concern may be
well
founded. Not long ago a Baltimore man was discovered dead in
his own
home, surrounded by photos of the beautiful, difficult
superstar-in-the-making.
In the past, Tess has had enough trouble guarding her
own
body. Keeping a spoiled movie princess under wraps may be
more than she
can handle—even with the help of Tess's icily unflappable
friend
Whitney—since Selene is not as naive as everyone seems to
think, and
far more devious than she initially appears to be. This is
not Tess's
world. And these are not her kind of people, with their
vanities, their
self-serving agendas and invented personas, and their
remarkably skewed
visions of reality—from the series' aging, shallow, former
pretty-boy
leading man to its resentful, always-on-the-make cowriter
to the
officious young assistant who may be too hungry for her own
good.
But the fish-out-of-water P.I. is abruptly pulled back in
by an
occurrence she's all too familiar with—murder. Suddenly the
wall of
secrets around Mann of Steel
is in danger of toppling, leaving shattered dreams, careers,
and lives
scattered among the ruins—a catastrophe that threatens the
people Tess
cares about . . . and the city she loves.
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