A gang of thieves stage a daring heist from a vault deep below Princeton Universitys Firestone Library. Their loot is priceless impossible to resist. Bruce Cable owns a popular bookstore in the sleepy resort town of Santa Rosa on Camino Island in Florida. He makes his real money though as a prominent dealer in rare books. Very few people know that he occasionally dabbles in unsavory ventures. Mercer Mann is a young novelist with a severe case of writers block who has recently been laid off from her teaching position. She is approached by an elegant mysterious woman working for an even more mysterious company. A generous monetary offer convinces Mercer to go undercover and infiltrate Cables circle of literary friends to get close to the ringleader to discover his secrets.