Pursuit of a woman on the hinge of history

the long version

When Lucas, a down at heel New Yorker, catches a glimpse of a woman in a small Spanish town, his life takes a radical turn. Her overwhelming beauty gives him a new perspective on the world. His only link to her is the man who was with her at the time - a billionaire financier determined to buy all the great art in the world. Lucas trails him through Europe and back to the states. A fierce duel of wits quickly ensues, in which Lucas finds himself the loser. Condemned for kidnapping and murder and sitting on death row in a Pennsylvania prison, Lucas is at last found by the woman for whom he'd been searching. Here is an intricate puzzle, desperate at times, of a strange humor at others.