In sunny Nassau, Philip Saunders is heartbroken when Katherine Caldwell, the love of his life, is forbidden to see him again because his family was too poor. In hopes of winning her back, he becomes obsessed with getting rich enough to earn her father's approval. Caught skinny-dipping by Harry Oakes, one of the world's richest men, Philip is given the nickname "the Naked Waiter," and is offered the job of Maitre d' at the grandest hotel in the Bahamas. About a hundred miles to the north, Addington Pinder is born to an unwed mother in an impoverished isolated settlement on Grand Bahama Island. The unwanted baby is reluctantly raised by his indifferent grandparents. Through the eyes of these two very different men, we see the development of Grand Bahama Island and Paradise Island. We also learn about how the savage murder of the most prominent expatriate in the colony is linked to gambling coming to the Bahamas, and how the Duke and Duchess of Windsor are connected.