HOT TICKET opens with concert violinist -- and US secret agent -- Leslie Frost performing at the White House:

"In a few seconds the president of the United States would begin to snore. I had been watching his eyelids droop for the last quarter hour, too many glasses of Riesling at a state dinner, compounded by the strain of trying to see through my gown, had finally knocked him out. Couldn't take his inattention personally since the man didn't know Brahms from Buxtehude. To him, violins without bluegrass were like Novembers without elections." (HOT TICKET)

About an hour later, Frost discovers the body of one of her fellow agents and barely escapes the killers who have returned to remove the corpse. As the story unfolds (at a breathtaking pace), arms merchant Krikor Tunalian, the vice president's brother, a doctor developing a deadly poison, and a power?hungry woman senator are the chief suspects. Frost's quest to solve the murder takes her from Washington, D.C., to New York, Berlin -- and the Belizean jungle.

"When I started writing HOT TICKET, I knew that I needed a jungle," Weber said. Then fate intervened. "I saw an article in Gourmet magazine about Belize and decided to go -- alone." As we talked, it was clear that the jungle had the same effect on us. "Spooky" is the word that kept creeping into the conversation.

"Belize is so remote," Weber said. "I hired a guide and went on a jungle walk. The jungle is so loud, but you can't see anything because the vegetation is so thick. As we were walking, it occurred to me that the guide could kill me and no one would know. Just then, from out of nowhere, a giant tapir appeared on the trail. The guide, who wasn't carrying a machete, was spooked. He turned back."

That trek inspired a scene where Frost plunges into the jungle -- in the middle of the night.

"Glutinous fronds stroked me as I plunged into the forest. The path was slippery, littered with rocks and small bones. Odors of blossom and rotting entrails saturated the air. The blindness was nowhere near as terrifying as the noise. Each time I heard a nearby grunt or the heavy snap of twigs in the dark, I braced for a dozen teeth in my intestines." (HOT TICKET)

When asked if she would go back to Belize, Weber said yes -- but not on a solo research trip. "Belize is a special kind of place. There isn't any place that's comparable. When I got back to this country, it took a while to get used to roads, air conditioners. The people all seemed happy and content. We forget how much of what we have, we don't need." If you're willing to sweat and exert yourself, Belize can give you a glimpse of past civilizations, breathtaking natural beauty, and a life free of the clutter that surrounds us.