Sounding the waters

the long version

Ben Shamas has spent the five years since the accidental drowning of his daughter in a carefully circumscribed routine. Between long hours of work at his law practice and the occasional quiet weekend bender, he has managed to avoid thinking about his daughter, his failed marriage, or his future. Then events break in on his comfortable numbness. Ben's oldest friend, Bobby Parrish, asks him to help run his campaign for the U.S. Senate, in what promises to be a bitter contest against a ruthless opponent. Ben's involvement in the campaign draws him out of his emotional shell, but as the heat of the campaign becomes intense, this brings on different dangers. Bobby's wife, Laura, was Ben's first love. As she turns to Ben for the attention Bobby has single-mindedly focused on the campaign, Ben is brought face to face with the past he has been ignoring, with his sense of loss and roads not taken. Meanwhile, the opposition has been digging into Bobby's personal history in search of anything they can use against him. What they find - and how Ben responds - could not only end Bobby's political career, but change the lives of all three friends forever.