Ed King

In Seattle in 1962, Walter Cousins, a mild-mannered actuary-"a guy who weighs risk for a living"-takes a risk of his own, and makes the biggest error of his life. He sleeps with Diane Burroughs, the sexy, not-quite-legal British au pair who's taking care of his children for the summer.

Diane gets pregnant and leaves their baby on a doorstep, but not before turning the tables on Walter and setting in motion a tragedy of epic proportions. Their orphaned child, adopted by an adoring family and named Edward Aaron King, grows up to become a billionaire Internet tycoon and an international celebrity-the "King of Search"-who unknowingly, but inexorably, hurtles through life toward a fate he may have no power to shape.