When a million-dollar bearer bond is cashed at a Swiss bank, Kar Gudman, former insurance investigator for Censur Re, is asked to discover who cashed the bond and how it got to Switzerland. The bond has a dark history: On September 11, 2001, high in the North Tower of the World Trade Center, a brokerage firm handed the bond to its trusted courier for delivery to a nearby bank. Moments later, terrorists struck the tower. The courier was never seen again, the bond presumed lost. The monetary loss was insured by Censur Re. Gudman left Censur Re for a reason- his boss and mentor, Larry Grimm, was falsifying internal documents. Gudman had little choice but to cut and run, leaving Grimm and his misdeeds behind. Now, a few years later, Grimm is seeking Gudman?s assistance tracking down the person who cashed the bond. Gudman knows he should refuse, but his spirit needs a lift. Troubled by the departure of his children for college, a mundane job, and an ambiguous relationship with a coworker, Gudman decides change is needed. Censur Re?s high-stakes mystery is a challenge too exciting to ignore. Although Gudman resolutely pursues the cold transactional trail- assisted by his friend Tony and a spritely English detective, Fanselasia- he approaches the bond search with mixed emotions; his own complicated history includes too many secrets. Will the search outcome be something he can share with the world- or never reveal? And who, exactly, will profit if Gudman solves the riddle of the rediscovered bond?
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