Running a lucrative marijuana operation in Laguna Beach, sometime environmentalist Ben and mercenary Chon confront a dangerous adversary in the Mexican Baja cartel, which kidnaps their playmate and confidante Ophelia, compelling the duo to plot ingenious negotiations.

"In Savages, Don Winslow introduced Ben and Chon, twenty something best friends who risk everything to save the girl they both love, O. Now, in his high-octane prequel, The Kings of Cool, Winslow reaches back in time to tell the story of how Ben, Chon, and O became the people they are. Spanning from 1960s Southern California to the recent past, it is a tale of family in all its forms--fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, friends and lovers. As...