Rolf Schroers 
Thousand Fathoms Under the Skin Volume Ii 

Boris Sartorev, an American diplomat involved in sensitive Middle Eastern peace talks, finds out at his cost that an eclectic group of friends formed in his wild past hold both the key to the mystery and the winning hand. Despite the clarity of diplomatic vision being blurred by remembrances of sexual liaisons, shared kicks, and children born, it is soon clear to Boris that he is somehow connected to the Poker Club, and therefore, frighteningly, to their Hitzballah roots.