Ruthless: A Novel

Shipping magnate John Randall Williams is feared by his competitors; loathed by his only daughter, Gabby; and at sea after the recent death of his devoted wife. About to face his first Christmas alone, John meets a young woman named Lillith at a dinner party and is immediately drawn to her beauty. He invites her to share the holiday with him on his 350-foot sailboat in Saint Barts, and Lillith allows herself to be swept away.

Charlotte Ramsay, a senior editor at Vanity Fair, is on assignment in Saint Barts during the holidays. Known for her integrity as a journalist, she has come to the island to interview another powerful man: the elusive high-tech billionaire Ben Sharpe, whose luxury yacht is also anchored in the harbor. Though the first interview goes badly, she eventually agrees to have dinner with him and becomes intrigued by the real man behind the façade.

A chance encounter between the two couples sets the stage for a face-off between Charlotte and John. He might have a well-earned reputation for ruthlessness, but when she is in pursuit of her story, she never backs down.

From the power corridors of Manhattan to the sunsets in Saint Barts, Danielle Steel masterfully pulls back the curtain on the private lives of the wealthy elite, where all is not always what it seems.