'Confessions' is good for a quick read

— -- Need a quick airplane read? Consider Confessions of a Wall Street Shoeshine Boy, a novel by Doug Stumpf, a deputy editor at Vanity Fair.

This tale of Wall Street shenanigans revolves around a troubled hedge fund and insider trading, and a hastily arranged trip to the Bahamas to retrieve secret documents. And you'll find the prerequisite drugs, booze and even some R-rate sex scenes.

The caper is told through two main characters: Gil, a Brazilian "shoeshine boy," who buffs expensive Gucci loafers at a top investment house, and Greg, a magazine journalist in search of a juicy story.

Our journalist is hungry to do "a whistle-blower story, where the underlings bring down the high and mighty." In fact, he desperately needs a home run because his job is in jeopardy. His luck changes when he runs into Gil.

Gil spews forth a story about his cousin who used to clean the bathrooms at the firm. His cousin was fired after catching a hotshot trader talking on his cellphone in a closet — not a good idea, as it gives the impression of insider trading. Gil blames the star exec for getting his cousin canned. And, oh yes, Gil wants Greg's help to get his relative rehired.

Are you still with us? Greg's plan is more grandiose. This might be his chance to expose an insider trading scandal at one of Wall Street's leading firms.

Even if the plot is a little impassible, Confessions moves along swiftly, a fast-paced novel.