By Reason Of Privilege

When nine-year-old Toms Coln is run over by the drunken son of a wealthy businessman, police uncover evidence of an international heroin-smuggling operation that is responsible for several murders.

The young victim's uncle, Detective Luis Ortiz, heads up an investigation that begins as a slam-dunk arrest. But a slick, influential attorney convinces the State Attorney's Office that the evidence is circumstantial and insufficient to secure a conviction, and the charges are dropped.

Determined to gather concrete proof, Ortiz continues the case. He soon meets Kathryn DiAgostino, a forensics investigator who stirs up passion in him that he thought had died with his previous marriage.

It's up to Ortiz and his fellow law enforcement officials to sift through a superficial, shallow world of privileged thugs in their effort to put a stop to a string of heinous crimes. As they do so, however, treachery and deceit spread like a cancer among business associates, friends, and lovers. They all seem to have the same goal: to get cash-and as much of it as possible.

Follow the money trail and Ortiz's relentless pursuit of justice in "By Reason of Privilege,"