First published 2009
Laurence Leamer embarked on a fifteen-year undercover investigation into the wealthy residents of Palm Beach, Florida. He positioned himself as an insider to observe their behavior firsthand, enduring golf games, poolside hours, and alcohol-fueled conversations. His subjects revealed intimate details about their sexual escapades, their frustrations with family obligations, and the questionable methods they used to amass their fortunes. Through this extended infiltration, Leamer documented how these privileged individuals navigated their gilded existence on their tropical island, where staff members catered to their constant demands. The investigation reveals that immense wealth fails to guarantee contentment, though it does provide a lifestyle of perpetual leisure in paradise where others exist solely to fulfill every desire.
Genres: american-fiction, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: insider-perspective, social-commentary
Setting: Palm Beach, Florida
Period: 21st Century
368 pages · Hardcover · Hyperion