Arthur Pfefferkorn is a has-been, or perhaps a never-was: a middle-aged college professor with long-dead literary aspirations. When his oldest friend, bestselling thriller writer William de Vall├Г┬иe, is lost at sea, Pfefferkorn is torn between envy and grief, for de Vall├Г┬иe not only outshone Pfefferkorn professionally, but married the woman Pfefferkorn loved.Pfefferkorn├втВмтДвs decision to reconnect with de Vall├Г┬иe├втВмтДвs widow sets in motion a surreal chain of events, plunging him into a shadowy realm of double crosses and intrigue, a world where no one can be trusted--and nothing can be taken seriously.