Note: The page numbers in this guide refer to The Last Good Paradise, First Edition.

In The Last Good Paradise, by Tatjana Soli, Ann and Richard are married and living in Los Angeles. They are attempting to live society’s version of the American Dream. Ann is a successful lawyer, looking to become a partner in the firm. Richard wants to make it big in the culinary field. He is currently in the midst of opening a new restaurant with his friend, the charismatic Ravi. Richard does not know that Ravi is Ann's former lover.

On the surface, the life shared by Ann and Richard looks great. However, behind the scenes, both face frustration. Ann hates her job, and Richard stresses over the struggle of opening a restaurant. As a couple, they want to have a child. So far, that has not happened.

Things get worse when Ann and Richard find out that Ravi has risked the money that Ann had invested in the business venture. Richard and Ann could lose their entire life savings. When Ann finds out that the court might block access to their bank account because of Ravi's actions, she withdraws all of the couple's money. She and Richard escape to an island resort with no means of communication. They are disconnecting from the rest of the world. Once there, they meet others who are attempting to escape something in their own lives. Fellow guests include Dex, Wende, Cooked, Titi, and Loren. Dex is the aging lead singer of a rock group that is past its prime, and Wende is his much younger muse. Cooked and Titi are island natives who act as a caretaker, a housekeeper, and a cook. Loren is an exiled Frenchman, who won the resort in a poker game. He is terminally ill with AIDS.

Ann soon becomes Loren’s muse. She keeps him company and helps him find his daughter. She also promises Loren to help Cooked and Titi with the resort after he dies. Richard becomes the muse of Dex. He also gains Titi’s trust in her kitchen. She even lets him cook in it alone.

During this period, Ann and Richard face various problems and misunderstandings as a couple: Richard thinks that Ann is having an affair with Loren, and Ann knows that Richard finds Wende attractive. Both Ann and Richard think that the other is about to leave. Both struggle with their professional lives. By the end of the novel, however, their bond is tighter than ever. Furthermore, they are living the American dream on their own terms.

Their island companions also find answers. Dex starts writing songs and reunites with his lead guitarist to create a new album. Wende agrees to marry Dex, but she does so on her own terms. Cooked and Titi get married and become owners of the resort, thus ensuring a better life for their children. In death, Loren reunites with his daughter.

Loren forbids using technology on the island. However, by the end of the novel, all of the guests are using the Internet and cell phones. No one seems to mind. Everyone has learned that people have a need to connect. Running away to an island does not lessen that need.