For the first time using a man as her protagonist, Bradford gives us a cliched love story nearly indistinguishable from her previous ( A Woman of Substance ) hefty novels. Tycoon Maximilian West, workaholic founder of a multinational financial empire, is endowed with "personal magnetism," "fatal charm," "charisma" and "presence" but is emotionally obtuse with the women who adore him. Born Maxim Wertheim in Berlin, he is brought to London in 1939 by his loving nursemaid; his parents die in concentration camps. Forging a brilliant business career, he marries a glamorous Frenchwoman, eventually losing her to the demands of his career; two more wives and assorted mistresses fail to bring him happiness.