Pyon

British author Burden ( Rags ) paints a romantic picture of a fearless but fallible tycoon in this unexceptional family saga. Having secured her son Christy's birthright in a hasty upstairs/downstairs marriage, Irish mum Maeve Pyon watches him brawl and outfox his way to billionairedom. As Christy launches a problematic takeover bid for the U.S.-based conglomerate Chemco, a paparazzo's widely published photo of him with his black Mauritian mistress enrages his Italian wife and strains his relationships with his ex-wife and their children. The high-stakes story lines draft a hand-picked international shark pack, a passel of traitors, mafioso wannabes and other suitably soap opera-ish types, but Burden winds up the action with a powerfully unexpected ending. (Nov.)