Prologue

Frank Clare was a late child, born years after his parents gave up on trying to have kids.

Frank grew up loving books. His parents concentrated their respect for education and work ethic on their sole child, and encouraged Frank to study hard. Bright and curious, Frank responded by advancing well ahead of his peers.

He skipped one grade, then another. By the time Frank got to high school, most of his much older classmates shunned the skinny nerd with perfect grades. Frank responded by focusing even more on his studies.

His admission to an Ivy League school at fifteen was a cause for intense pride in his aging parents. To Frank himself, the college was a shock. No longer a star pupil, he was now surrounded by new freshmen just as bright, many of them also child prodigies with impressive scores and college-level courses under their belts.

Frank got used to the college life. Taking a heavy course load, and testing out of a number of required classes, Frank was able to graduate in three years. Even more impressive was his admission to one of the best graduate computer science programs in the country.

His parents, both now battling cancer, were immensely proud of their son, the future scientist. Alas, first his mother, than his father died before he graduated.

Frank continued his almost obsessive study. Awkward with women, and with little social life, Frank was able to graduate first in his class. He defended his Ph. D. dissertation at twenty one.

While still in college, Frank was involved in a computer start-up. After several years of hard work, the start-up was acquired. The purchase did not make Frank or his partners wealthy, but in the process, he built relationships with the partners in the private equity firm involved in the transaction.

After getting his degree, instead of looking for post-doc study, Frank accepted a job with the private equity firm. Frank's technical knowledge, analytical skills and ability to negotiate proved useful in his new job.

With almost no experience with women, Frank was astonished when he ran into Angela Latise, a just-graduated nurse. Angela was a tall, very pretty young woman, who took a liking to Frank's tall, spare figure, his brown hair with prematurely graying temples, and his serious demeanor.

Frank was often flustered by the flirting Angela, who was outgoing, sensual, and assertive. Despite Frank's grueling schedule at work, Angela found times to drag him to concerts and clubs on occasion. Angela seduced Frank a few months into their acquaintance, and somewhat to her surprise, she found herself falling in love with the young banker.

Frank, for his part, was completely overcome by the dynamic, attractive Angela. Angela was four years older than Frank, but in company, people often assumed that Frank was actually the older member. His formal attire (Frank didn't have much casual clothing), sober manner, correct speech and the gray on his temples made him appear older.

Soon afterwards, Frank invited Angela to move in with him. The relationship worked very well, with Angela teaching Frank to relax and have fun, and at the same time picking up study and work habits from him.

After a year of living together, Frank proposed. Despite loving Frank, Angela was very leery of marriage. She was divorced before; her marriage at a very young age had been a dismal failure. The worst memory was her child Jennifer: Angela believed, with justification, that she had been a bad mother. In the divorce proceeding, Angela's ex-husband kept custody of young Jennifer.

Angela saw Jennifer a couple of times a year. The visits were always painful. Angela felt guilty; while Jennifer blamed her mother for abandoning her and her dad.