Derek Franklin

Son of Lt. Col. Miles Franklin, youngest of four children, his brother is Greville, and his sisters are Susan and Miranda. He is a very successful steeplechase jockey, but at thirty-four he is sidelined by an injury. When his elder brother, Greville, dies in a horrible accident, he has to take over his brother's gemstone import business without knowing anything about it, or much about his brother's life. It almost proves fatal.