Jackie Collins

The Bitch

Following from where The Stud left off, Fontaine Khaled is now a divorcee. While she still leads an extravagant jetset lifestyle and did get a rather hefty divorce settlement, she no longer has the financial security of being a billionaire's wife and her once-successful London nightclub, "Hobo", is now failing due to a newer club taking away most of the former patrons. While on a flight returning to London from New York, she meets handsome Italian gambler Nico Cantafora. In order to impress Fontaine, Nico pretends he is a wealthy businessman, though he is actually a conman who owes money to the mafia, and he covertly uses Fontaine to smuggle a stolen diamond ring through airport customs which he intends to sell in London to pay off his debts. Nico later tracks Fontaine down in order to retrieve the ring she unwittingly carried through customs for him. They spend the night together but when she discovers that he planted the ring in her coat, she throws him out. However, when Nico later learns that the ring is a fake, he gives it to Fontaine as a light-hearted gift and she forgives him. Meanwhile, Fontaine's own financial problems continue to mount and her accountant warns her that she is rapidly running out of money. To combat this, she attempts to restore her failing nightclub to its former glory. Meanwhile, she learns of Nico's mob connections after he is beaten up by local gangsters due to the money he still owes them. Later, Fontaine and Nico are invited to the country estate of Fontaine's best friends, Leonard and Vanessa Grant. The Grants own a racehorse named Plato that is favourite to win an upcoming high-stakes derby. Still in debt to the mafia, Nico is instructed by local gangland boss Thrush Feathers to ensure that Plato loses the race. To this effect, Nico blackmails the horse's jockey to throw the race. Fontaine overhears Nico's plan and meets with Feathers to get a cut of the deal with him which could solve her financial problems. Feathers agrees so that Fontaine will not interfere with his plans and will also be indebted to him. On the day of the race, the jockey falls off the horse as planned and loses the race. Fontaine pretends to Nico that she gambled her entire fortune on Plato to win and is now broke, but Nico is ecstatic because he backed the winning horse and now believes he can get the mafia off his back once and for all. However, the mafia have other ideas for him and after he gives Fontaine his winning tickets to collect on his behalf, he is carted off by Feathers' henchmen. Fontaine, meanwhile, goes to collect a double payout - with Nico's winning tickets and her cut from Feathers for going along with his scam. With the money she made from the horse race scam, and her nightclub a success again, Fontaine is saved from financial ruin but when she arrives at her club one evening, she meets Feathers there who tells everyone he is now the club's new owner and it is implied he will blackmail Fontaine into marrying him.