It's not exactly Xanadu but the Kubla Khan, Ormand Monaco's new super-luxury hotel in Palm Desert, California is designed and built to transport visitors to what such a palace would be like. He's planned a beauty contest as part of the grand opening but what nobody had planned on are a couple of murders that stir things up and start to spoil the show. Who better than Shell Scott to come in and sort things out? As he unravels the knots--and the one holding up Lyssa Weldon's towel unravels all by itself--the usual mix of lust and mayhem that surrounds Shell Scott spreads in all directions--and threatens to drown him if he doesn't finish sorting things out in a hurry.