Masquerade
First sentence
She sipped at the wine in her glass and watched with marked indifference the lewd gyrations of a short, fat man garbed in the costume of Bacchus, a wreath of grape leaves encircling his bald head and a toga stretched tautly around his protruding stomach...
Description
Following an horrendous experience in the Gulf War, Captain Helen Price of the Catering Corps is retired from the Army. But even six years after the war she remains traumatised. Then, on recommendation of her current psychiatrist, Helen is offered a position by wealthy socialite Claudine Seydlitz, to look after her two step-children. Helen is persuaded to give it a go. The job carries very good pay, and will take her to the Seydlitzes' cattle ranch in Brazil. This is an opportunity for Helen to put the past behind her and rediscover herself. Before long, Helen finds that she has been drawn into a nightmare world involving a gigantic conspiracy. It becomes apparent that far from being fortunate, she had been chosen simply because her mental stability was in doubt. But now Helen is faced with a situation in which her own safety and that of her two charges rests entirely on her courage, determination, and sanity.