In Seattle, 1962, Walter Cousins, a mild-mannered actuary, "a guy who weighs risk for a living", takes a risk of his own, and makes the biggest error of his life. He sleeps with Diane, the sexy, not-quite-legal British au pair who's taking care of his children for the summer. Diane gets pregnant and leaves their baby on a doorstep, but not before turning the tables on Walter and setting in motion a tragedy of epic proportions. Their orphaned child, adopted by an adoring family, becomes Edward Aaron King, and grows up to become a billionaire Internet tycoon and an international celebrity, the King of Search, who unknowingly, but inexorably, hurtles through life toward a fate he may have no power to shape.