Jason Kristofer
In honor of his birthday, San Francisco banker Nicholas Van Orton, a financial genius and a cold-hearted loner, receives an unusual present from his younger brother, Conrad: a gift certificate to play a unique kind of game. In nearly a nanosecond, Nicholas finds himself consumed by a dangerous set of ever-changing rules, unable to distinguish where the charade ends and reality begins.
The story takes place in alternative America where the blacks are members of social elite, and whites are inhabitants of inner city ghettos. Louis Pinnock is a white worker in a chocolate factory, loving husband and father of two children. While delivering a package for black CEO Thaddeus Thomas, he is mistaken for a voyeur and, as a result, loses his job, gets beaten by black cops and his family gets evicted from their home. Desperate Pinnock takes a gun and kidnaps Thomas, demanding justice.
Donna Yaklich meets Dennis the policeman and thinks she might have found a good relationship. But Dennis is obsessed with weight-lifting and uses steroids, which make him aggressive and abusive. Getting out of the relationship isn't easy as Dennis isn't willing to let her go, and Donna's options are narrowed down to one remaining alternative.
Fifteen-year-old Chris Mills isn't too happy with his divorcing parents. In fact, he doesn't want them to split at all, so he hires car repair shop owner -- and former attorney -- Archie Corelli to run interference for him and put a stop to the proceedings. It's a match made in heaven because Chris and Archie both have a deep desire to see the right thing done.
Miss Maple, a music teacher, falls ill and a couple of kids try to get money for her treatment by selling Russians the blueprints of military airplanes. The trouble is - blueprints are from miniscule toy models. In middle of it all, teen hormones are working and there is some talk about first and second base.
