Philip Seward travels to the Philippines to investigate the case of a missionary priest imprisoned for murder, where he is drawn into a labyrinth of vice, violence, and corruption where nothing and nobody are what they seem.

‘Part Conrad, part Waugh, part Greene, and pure genius’ Independent on Sunday

‘This is Arditti’s most dazzling novel to date because of the scale of his ambition and his triumph in pulling it off’ Peter Stanford, Daily Telegraph

While working as a missionary priest in the Philippines during the Marcos dictatorship, Julian Tremayne championed the Communist rebels and found himself imprisoned for murder. Now, three decades later, following Julian’s death, a cult develops around him, even calling for sainthood.

When Philip Seward goes to investigate on behalf of Julian’s family, he is drawn into a labyrinth of vice, violence, and corruption where nothing and nobody are what they seem.

Enriched by a gallery of engaging characters ranging from priests to prostitutes, GIs to gangsters, and street children to Imelda Marcos, this outstanding novel is at once a gripping psychological thriller, a challenging moral mystery, and an unforgettable voyage into a dark and exotic landscape.