Freddie Montgomery is a bad son, a worse husband, and a failed scientist. His expatriate life drags itself out in seedy resort bars. His one decisive act is to return home.

But no sooner does he set foot on Irish soil than he steps in it. Trying robbery, he kills a servant. Freddie's lawyer proposes a plea: guilty to manslaughter, innocent to murder. That way, no trial. But Freddie wants drama. He seethes to tell his story.

"Mesmerizing. An astonishing novel. John Banville gambled that he could hook us with a monster--and won." (The New York Times)