Arctic prospector Jack McCann| after fifteen years of solitary searching| becomes one of the world's wealthiest men when he literally falls into a mountain of gold
in 1925. Years later| in 1945| he lives in luxury on a Caribbean island that he owns. But his wealth brings him no peace of mind as he copes with Helen| his bored|
alcoholic wife; Tracy| his dear| but headstrong| daughter who has married a dissolute| philandering social-climber; and Miami mobsters who want his island to build a
casino. His life is entangled with the obsessions of those around him with greed| power| and debauchery against a background of occult symbolism.