A high-flying Wall Street trader’s life spins out of control when her trading success falters, and she turns to astrology for guidance just as her estranged husband reappears, seeking reconciliation.

SYNOPSIS:

The period of Venus Retrograde slams into math-wizard, self-confident (with notes of high-anxiety) ALICIA SANTOS (35), famous on the Street for notching up big trading gains, when her estranged husband, cameraman DEKE FRANKLIN (37) returns home from a long assignment in yet another war zone. She wants a divorce. He wants a reconciliation.

Just as her determination to end a marriage that left her alone for more than half her married years falters, her trading profits on the job begin to shrink. Then JEREMY CRISTOPHER (38), serious and recently divorced son of the company president, shows up to learn the business but has more interest in Alicia than the firm. All the important pillars of life lose hold in her period of emotional confusion.

With her waning trading returns, Alicia is seconded out to a specialized trading group. After a warning from SOFIA, a kindly palm reader, she completely loses confidence and blames Venus Retrograde for her woes. Shaky about her computational capability, she faces forty days of karmic confusion. She arms herself with astrological tools in an effort to control her social life. Despite her laidback friend BETTY ANNE’s warnings, she deicdes to follow the horoscope diligently.

Her Pisces horoscope advises caution about sharing, so Alicia decides to build a wall through the middle of the apartment she’s forced to share with husband Deke. She hires VINCE, a carpenter from Staten Island who doesn’t appreciate the Manhattan craze for every inch of real estate but he knows to keep his mouth shut. Most of the time. When the palm reader suggests Alicia should follow her Pisces nature, she ends up dealing large fish future contracts with Vladi, an eccentric Ukrainian trader.

Her lawyer JULIA, her friend Betty Anne and even her palm reader push hard to shake her strict horoscope dependence. With soon-to-be ex Deke sharing the apartment and Jeremy persistently courting her, Alicia’s getting more confused emotionally and excited erotically. Every day she’s seeing flashbacks of the pleasures of her life with Deke. And very hot Jeremy shows her promises for the future.

Alicia shares her woes with her Haitian driver GEORGE, lover of all things fishing and fly tying, who suggests a job at a trading house that leads to a dicey legal situation with illegal copper trades.

Deke puts his foot down. He warns Alicia that if she persists with the divorce, he’ll ask for the apartment, which will end up forcing her to sell. Alicia panics. Keeping her grandmother’s home is hugely important to her. Instead of talking with Deke, she acts alone and ups the stakes in her personal trades in order to buy Deke out. But just when she needs money the most, her bet on the yen market blows up spectacularly as a huge earthquake hits the capital. She’s near bankrupt.

Near the end of its cycle, Venus Retrograde throws its hardest punch. After Jeremy proclaims his love and invites Alicia to London to meet his family, the very next day he confesses to Alicia that he can’t take her because his father has learned about the alleged illegal copper trades. The trading firm had fraudulently made big trades, pretending Alicia had tried to take over the copper market. Alicia’s lawyer clears up the charges immediately, but the damaging gossip has already reached London.

Deflated, she returns home to find that all traces of Deke are gone. Net net: two suitors reduced to zero in 24 hours. And a total loss of her professional confidence. But Deke is true to his word. He’s quit the war corrspondent jobs and found a great gig in New York City. He intends to show up for Alicia and their marriage.

Alicia finally realizes how much she’s been denying her problems. She needed Deke when he wasn’t there. But now he’s back. Can she accept him? She decides to throw away her horoscope and depend on her heart to find her next move.