The devil I know

the long version

"Tristram St. Lawrence has not been home for years--ever since he missed his mother's deathbed in favor of going on a bender, the thirteenth Earl of Howth is not welcome in the family castle. Now sober, he lives an itinerant life in self-imposed exile, and his main confidant is his sponsor, a mysterious businessman who Tristram knows only as M. Deauville. One day, when his plane is unexpectedly diverted to Dublin, Tristram ends up where he started, and an old acquaintance, a bully from his school days who's now making a name in construction, pitches to Tristram an ambitious and expensive development project. The trouble is, M. Deauville thinks it's a good idea, and before Tristram knows it he's settled in Howth under his father's baleful gaze and is up to his neck in funding proposals, zoning approvals, and the personal life of his business partner" --