Suki Sperakis went to Key West for a better life - even though the tradeoff was a series of lousy jobs, the latest of which is selling ad space for a third-rate freebie paper. Aaron Katz went to Key West to escape the double hell of a Wall Street job and a soured marriage. And to pursue a dream he'd caught, like a bad cold, from his ex, of restoring a doomed and rotting wreck of a guest house.

Then there were the Russians... they came to Key West for the opportunity. Blue jeans! Gold chains! Harley Davidsons! And a cozy, unprotected spot that harbored the richest, most explosive stash of contraband they could possibly imagine.

When Suki starts sniffing around a story that could really make a difference to the town she loves, and Aaron falls for her as the blithe spirit who could turn his life around, and Aaron's senile father joins forces with retired mafioso Bert the Shirt, and the Russians start to worry that too many nosy Americans are too curious about their business, Mangrove Squeeze takes off.