Serpent Point

The Big Dig, one of the country’s most expensive public works projects, took a busy interstate highway and buried it beneath the streets of Boston.

But when a section of the tunnel’s roof collapses, killing an innocent motorist, questions begin to be asked. Was the construction shoddy? Did the unions take shortcuts? Were the politicians all paid off to look the other way?

With all that public fallout, construction firm owner Tom Pyle hires Jack Dunne, an up-from-the-bootstraps entrepreneur and bare-knuckle manager, to help guide the company through its troubles. Pyle even invites Dunne to spend the summer at Pyle’s Cape Cod mansion on Serpent Point, an exclusive oceanfront residential neighborhood just outside the town of Winter Cove.

Among the neighbors at Serpent Point: Malcolm O’Malley, the sitting U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and scion of a prominent political family who, despite a large collection of skeletons in his closet, is gearing up for his own run for the presidency; Timothy Regan, a former band singer and impresario who’s fabulous wealth enables him to satiate his immoral desires; and Joe Bruno, capo of the most powerful organized crime family in New England, and father of sixteen-year-old Angela.

But Tom Dunne seems more interested in taking over Pyle’s corporation than in helping it navigate the problems caused by the roof collapse. And he still has to deal with politicians, the media, and organized crime who all have something to gain, and lose, in the incident.

And if that’s not enough, Dunne’s own marriage is failing and he is desperate to maintain a relationship with his young son, Tiger.

Throw all those elements in the pot and stir, and the result is the page-turning thriller of drama and excitement. Author Caleb Clarke has created a story for our time, and it’s located on Serpent Point.