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In a world of lies, proof is power

John Dyer is living a quiet life when he receives a call that changes everything: an old university friend, Lia, has been killed. Decades have passed since his last heartbreaking conversation with her, but Dyer finds himself driven to investigate.

What Dyer uncovers puts him in the path of a political conspiracy with one man at its heart. A man who forty years ago committed a crime witnessed by just four people. When another of the witnesses dies in suspicious circumstances, Dyer finds himself in danger of his life. To combat the forces arrayed against him, he needs incontrovertible proof – but will he find it in time?

As Dyer chases his leads from Tasmania to Argentina and finally to Michigan, where it all began, he unwittingly pits himself against an adversary more powerful than he could have imagined, in a race as heartstopping as tomorrow’s headlines.


'A remarkable contemporary thriller... A triumph' William Boyd

'An absorbing thriller with shades of John le Carré' Evening Standard

'One of our best and truest novelists' The Times

'Exciting... A page-turner' Daily Telegraph

‘Wonderfully well written... with an insidious escalation of menace, and paranoia that fairly shimmers off the pages’ Guardian

© Nicholas Shakespeare 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026