In this book, Egon Wagter has always found Axel van de Graaf difficult to resist. They met as adolescents on a field trip to Belgium; in the caves of La Roche, Axel's charisma and amoral charm bound Egon to him for life. For years Egon managed to keep his distance. A respectable geologist and a loving husband, he learned about Axel's exploits as a drug baron only from the press. But now, with his family life in tatters, an expedition to South America offers Egon his only hope of escape - all he needs is $40,000. Finally he bends to Axel's will. He finds himself in South-East Asia, carrying a suitcase which will earn him the death penalty if he's caught - and could get him killed even if he's not - and it is only now, with what's left of his life in jeopardy, that Egon begins to understand the truth behind their fateful meeting in the cave.