The world's rainforests are shrinking faster than ice cubes in the desert. Endangered species are on the brink of extinction. But as the situation grows desperate, who would dream that a miraculous solution would come from the most unlikely heroes? The new novel "Simian Caucus" begins when an 89 year old billionaire widow meets an incurably ill medical student. Facing a future of unbearable suffering, the young man secretly plans to use the widow's palatial estate as a setting for his suicide. But just before he can carry out his plan, the widow reveals a secret of her own, giving her new friend an overpowering reason to keep on living. Racing against the clock, the unlikely pair embarks on a high-stakes journey to rescue some of the world's most precious wild places.