'Sometimes life doesn't give you what you want. It gives you what you need. Pete Vanderveer was a shy suburban lawyer from Buffalo. His father, Marcellus, ran a small company there. Just before he died he asked Pete to take it over, to look after his employees. Pete was terrified. He was sure he lacked all the skills. But his father told him he wouldn't be alone. His right-hand man, his 'other son' Joe, would always be there. Together, they could do anything, Marcellus told them. But even Marcellus could never have guessed what the two young men would achieve. In a few short years, Pete found himself not only one of the richest men in the world, but one of the most philanthropic. The shy, diffident young lawyer now strode the world stage. But you can save millions of people, and not know what is going on in the hearts of those you love. Pete had no idea why, one day, Joe just up and left the company, left New York City too. He turned up years later in his home town of Sydney, Australia, shining shoes in the Pitt Street Mall. What happened in between, to Joe and Pete and to the women they both loved, was a story destined to change many lives.' (Publication Summary)
