Lifestyles of the Rich and Paranoid

Or not. In fact, none of the guides New Times contacted knew the first thing about the island. They did offer an excuse, however. Some years ago, it seems, the village's marine patrol cops received orders to shoo away any sightseeing boat that should drift into territorial waters.

The most extensive account of the island to date is, in fact, Herbert Kastle's 1972 novel, The Millionaires, a fictional tribute to the folly of affluence based on Indian Creek Village. "That sure kicked up a fury," notes Mary Jane Hardwicke, a long-time country club member. "But then, the rumors are always flying in Indian Creek. That's how I make it through the cocktail parties there, now that I don't drink. I just tell them, 'I'm on chapter five,' and everyone scatters."

Hardwicke, a resident of Surfside, says she rarely visits the village these days. "Never even considered moving there," she adds. "A fella named Woolworth, who lived there in the Forties, used to tell me: Mary Jane, never, never, never get yourself behind a gate.