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The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos
by Mark ChiusanoFrom the dogged Long Island reporter who has been on his trail since 2019, the bizarre, page-turning, and frankly hysterical story of America&’s most outrageous grifter—former US Representative George Santos.America has grown used to larger-than-life politicians: Teflon Don, AOC, MTG, Dark Brandon, and all the rest have injected DC politics with an unmistakable edge of celebrity flair and tabloid intrigue. Yet in 2022, a new player on the national scene outshone them all. George Anthony Devolder Santos, and his revolving door of pseudonyms, shed glaring new light on how far we&’d all let our politics slide as his claimed resume was shred to bits in the wake of a longshot run to office from New York&’s 3rd Congressional District. From Wall Street gigs to an amateur volleyball career, from embellished claims of Jewish heritage to a fabricated 9/11 story involving his mother&’s death, Santos&’s legend continued to grow as his web of lies evaporated in real time. And the only thing wilder than this charlatan embedding himself in the warm, consequence-evading arms of our nation&’s capital was the Queens con artist&’s refusal to bow his head in shame. Newsday alum and PEN/Hemingway honoree Mark Chiusano tells the full (well, as full as can be given the subject) story of Santos here for the first time. From humble years spent in Brazil, to glamorous nights on the west side of Manhattan, to the stunning small-time scams employed to ease his slippery climb up the American society ladder, The Fabulist tells a story you&’ll have to read for yourself to believe…and even then, it&’s George Santos, so who&’s to say for sure. Combining the very best of boots-on-the-ground journalism, dishy backroom dealings, and glittery details about Gold Coast mansions and bodice-baring drag shows that&’d feel just as at home in your next summer beach read, The Fabulist is truly stranger than fiction.
The Face That Launched a Thousand Lawsuits: The American Women Who Forged a Right to Privacy
by Jessica LakeA compelling account of how women shaped the common law right to privacy during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Drawing on a wealth of original research, Jessica Lake documents how the advent of photography and cinema drove women--whose images were being taken and circulated without their consent--to court. There they championed the creation of new laws and laid the groundwork for America's commitment to privacy. Vivid and engagingly written, this powerful work will draw scholars and students from a range of fields, including law, women's history, the history of photography, and cinema and media studies.
The Face of Justice
by Bill BlumIn the midst of a custody battle against his wife for his daughter, a lawyer is confronted by a terror from his past. A ruthless killer--the lawyer's ex-client--escapes prison and kidnaps the judge who sentenced him. Contacted by the FBI, the lawyer becomes involved in the hunt for the killer, who taunts the search team with videos of the judge and late night phone calls. Still bound by the attorney-client privilege with his former client, the lawyer embarks on his own investigation based on suspicions he can't sharewith law enforcement officials...and discovers a strange connection between his wife and the kidnapping case!
The Face on Your Plate: The Truth About Food
by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson"It's a challenge to create transformative moments with books, but [Masson] does it."--Susan Salter Reynolds, Los Angeles Times In this revelatory work, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson shows how food affects our moral selves, our health, and our planet. Masson investigates how denial keeps us from recognizing the animal at the end of our fork and urges readers to consciously make decisions about food.
The Faces of Injustice
by Judith N. ShklarPonders such questions as: How can we distinguish between injustice and misfortune? and What can we learn from the victims of calamity about the sense of injustice they harbour? Shklar formulates a new political and moral theory of injustice.
The Faces of Justice and State Authority
by Mirjan R. DamaskaA leading legal scholar provides a highly original comparative analysis of how justice is administered in legal systems around the world and of the profound and often puzzling changes taking place in civil and criminal procedure. Constructing a conceptual framework of the legal process based on the link between politics and justice, Mirjan R. Damaska provides a new perspective that enables disparate procedural features to emerge as fascinating recognizable patterns.
The Fact of the Cage: Reading and Redemption In David Foster Wallace’s "Infinite Jest" (Routledge Studies in Contemporary Literature)
by Karl A. PlankDavid Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest raised expectations of what a novel might do. As he understood fiction to aim at what it means to be human, so he hoped his work might relieve the loneliness of human suffering. In that light, The Fact of the Cage shows how Wallace’s masterpiece dramatizes the condition of encagement and how it comes to be met by "Abiding" and through inter-relational acts of speaking and hearing, touching, and facing. Revealing Wallace’s theology of a "boneless Christ," The Fact of the Cage wagers that reading such a novel as Infinite Jest makes available to readers the redemption glimpsed in its pages, that reading fiction has ethical and religious significance—in short, that reading Infinite Jest makes one better. As such, Plank’s work takes steps to defend the ethics of fiction, the vital relation between religion and literature, and why one just might read at all.
The Failed Promise of Originalism
by Frank B. Cross.Originalism is an enormously popular—and equally criticized—theory of constitutional interpretation. As Elena Kagan stated at her confirmation hearing, "We are all originalists." Scores of articles have been written on whether the Court should use originalism, and some have examined how the Court employed originalism in particular cases, but no one has studied the overall practice of originalism. The primary point of this book is an examination of the degree to which originalism influences the Court's decisions. Frank B. Cross tests this by examining whether originalism appears to constrain the ideological preferences of the justices, which are a demonstrable predictor of their decisions. Ultimately, he finds that however theoretically appealing originalism may seem, the changed circumstances over time and lack of reliable evidence means that its use is indeterminate and meaningless. Originalism can be selectively deployed or manipulated to support and legitimize any decision desired by a justice.
The Failure of Popular Constitution Making in Turkey: Regressing Towards Constitutional Autocracy (Comparative Constitutional Law and Policy)
by Felix Petersen Zeynep YanaşmayanThis book offers an in-depth account of the failure of popular constitution making in Turkey from 2011 to 2013, which was an anomaly in the otherwise authoritarian history of Turkish constitutional politics. The authors demonstrate that, even in unfavorable conditions, constitution making that brings together different stakeholders can potentially lead to significant improvement of constitutional regimes. Long-standing societal divides regarding cultural and religious diversity, which were evident in political parties' negotiations, played a significant role in the failure of the process in Turkey. Most notably, the ruling AKP's insistence on establishing a presidential system - supported by neither other political parties nor the public - destabilized the process and exacerbated distrust among the drafters. Unfavorable procedures, particularly an unrealistic deadline and the unanimity principle, prevented consensus and allowed the AKP to hijack the process. The process was a missed opportunity for democratization before Turkey plunged into full-fledged democratic backsliding.
The Failure of Public Finance Management in Afghanistan: Lessons for Other Conflict-Affected States (Routledge Explorations in Development Studies)
by Mohammad Qadam ShahIn rebuilding conflict-affected states, a major portion of foreign aid focuses on reforming public finance management systems and supporting annual budgets. However, how budgets are allocated and how reforms take shape in practice remain critical questions.This book analyzes the politics of reform and budget allocation in the most expensive liberal state-building effort in history: Afghanistan. Through a detailed political economy analysis, it explores the origin, continuity, and evolution of Afghanistan’s centralized public finance management system. Such centralization, readopted in the 2004 Constitution, constrained local participation, perpetuated inequities, and undermined predictability and transparency. Key reforms including the “Provincial Development Planning Guideline” and “Provincial Budgeting Policy” aimed to address these shortcomings but failed due to political resistance, elite capture, and structural inefficiencies. The analysis reveals informal dynamics behind the allocation of discretionary development budget consisting of the Afghan central government’s political considerations (political relationship, political importance, and strength and weakness of local administrations) and lobbying strategies of local actors. This dynamic enabled the central government to continue to use public funds for purchasing political legitimacy to remain in power.Afghanistan’s case highlights the limits of externally driven state-building that prioritizes centralization over local dynamics. The book offers key lessons on inclusive governance, structural barriers, and sustainable public finance reforms in conflict-affected states. It appeals to donors, development experts, and researchers in public finance, foreign aid, security, and development studies.
The Failure of the Founding Fathers: Jefferson, Marshall, And The Rise Of Presidential Democracy
by Bruce ACKERMANBased on seven years of archival research, the book describes previously unknown aspects of the electoral college crisis of 1800, presenting a revised understanding of the early days of two great institutions that continue to have a major impact on American history: the plebiscitarian presidency and a Supreme Court that struggles to put the presidency's claims of a popular mandate into constitutional perspective. Through close studies of two Supreme Court cases, Ackerman shows how the court integrated Federalist and Republican themes into the living Constitution of the early republic.
The Failure of the International Criminal Court in Africa: Decolonising Global Justice (Routledge Contemporary Africa)
by Everisto BenyeraThis book investigates the relationship between the International Criminal Court and Africa, asking why and how the international criminal justice system has so far largely failed the victims of atrocities in Africa. The book explores how the Court degenerated from a very promising multilateral institution to being an instrumentalized, politicized, weaponized institution which ended up with the victims being the greatest losers. Instead of looking at the International Criminal Court as a recent alternative to the prevailing paradigm, that book argues that it is a manifestation of the same world order that was established by the Reconquista in 1492. Written from a decolonial perspective, the book particularly draws on evidence from Zimbabwe in order to demonstrate how the International Criminal Court is failing the victims of the four crimes that falls under its jurisdiction. Drawing on the perspectives of victims in particular, this book highlights the damage caused within Africa by the international justice system and argues for a decolonial concept of justice. It will be of interest to researchers from across African politics, international relations, law, and criminal justice.
The Fair and Equitable Treatment: Developing Countries in Context (International Law and the Global South)
by Rumana IslamThis book presents comprehensive information on a range of issues in connection with the Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET) standard, with a particular focus on arbitral awards against host developing countries, thereby contributing to the available literature in this area of international investment law. It examines in detail the interpretation of the FET standard of key arbitral awards affecting host developing countries, demonstrating the full range of interpretation approaches adopted by the current investment tribunals. At the same time, the book offers valuable practical guidance for counsels/scholars representing host developing countries in investment arbitration, where balancing the competing interests of the foreign investors and the host developing countries in investment disputes poses a complex challenge. The book puts forward the pressing need for a re-conceptualized interpretation of the FET standard in tune with the developmental issues and challenges faced by host developing countries, recognizing these countries’ particular perspectives as an important and relevant aspect of investment disputes (often ignored by the current investment tribunals), while continuing to ensure reasonable protections for foreign investors and therefore serving the needs of the system as whole. The findings presented here will greatly benefit host developing countries engaged in investment arbitration. In addition, the book offers an insightful guide for all researchers whose work involves investment law and investment arbitration issues.
The Fairbanks Four: Murder, Injustice, and the Birth of a Movement
by Brian Patrick O’DonoghueOne murder, four guilty convictions, and a community determined to find justice.October, 1997. Late one night in Fairbanks, Alaska, a passerby finds a teenager unconscious, collapsed on the edge of the road, beaten nearly beyond recognition. Two days later, he dies in the hospital. His name is John Gilbert Hartman and he's just turned 15 years old. The police quickly arrest four suspects, all under the age of 21 and of Alaska Native and American Indian descent. Police lineup witnesses, trials follow, and all four men receive lengthy prison terms. Case closed. But journalist Brian Patrick O'Donoghue can't put the story out of his mind. When the opportunity arises to teach a class on investigative reporting, he finally digs into what happened to the "Fairbanks Four." A relentless search for the truth ensues as O'Donoghue and his students uncover the lies, deceit, and prejudice that put four innocent young men in jail.The Fairbanks Four is the gripping story of a brutal crime and its sprawling aftermath in the frigid Alaska landscape. It's a story of collective action as one journalist, his students, and the Fairbanks indigenous community challenge the verdicts. It's the story of a broken justice system, and the effort required to keep hope alive. This is the story of the Fairbanks Four.
The Fake and Deceptive Science Behind Roe V. Wade: Settled Law? vs. Settled Science?
by Thomas W. HilgersOur schools and healthcare institutions have abandoned the Hippocratic Oath and the Declaration of Geneva and replaced it with a policy of lethalism ...This is a direct result of the Court's acceptance and promotion of archaic scientific reasoning (Roe v. Wade) that, at best, would be considered pre-medieval and clearly out of touch with scientific reality. Fallout includes the expansion into fetal experimentation, human cloning, embryonic stem cell research, infanticide, and even physician-assisted suicide programs. The respect for life ethic has slowly been removed as the Supreme Court has so strongly supported the "lethalism becomes a way of life" ethic. Especially interesting is the lack of support for any positive solutions to these issues.The recognition is that life at all stages in the womb is precious and able to make extraordinary contributions to our ability to love and to be loved, to bring about peace and to be at peace, to extract love in ways that only a very young and precious life is able to extract, and to express love in ways that can be boundlessly meaningful. As we move to reestablish the human right to live, we must also move beyond lethalism and install positive, life-affirming and meaningful solutions to real human problems.God bless us all as we move in this direction!
The Fall and Rise of Freedom of Contract
by F. H. BuckleyDeclared dead some twenty-five years ago, the idea of freedom of contract has enjoyed a remarkable intellectual revival. In The Fall and Rise of Freedom of Contract leading scholars in the fields of contract law and law-and-economics analyze the new interest in bargaining freedom. The 1970s was a decade of regulatory triumphalism in North America, marked by a surge in consumer, securities, and environmental regulation. Legal scholars predicted the "death of contract" and its replacement by regulation and reliance-based theories of liability. Instead, we have witnessed the reemergence of free bargaining norms. This revival can be attributed to the rise of law-and-economics, which laid bare the intellectual failure of anticontractarian theories. Scholars in this school note that consumers are not as helpless as they have been made out to be, and that intrusive legal rules meant ostensibly to help them often leave them worse off. Contract law principles have also been very robust in areas far afield from traditional contract law, and the essays in this volume consider how free bargaining rights might reasonably be extended in tort, property, land-use planning, bankruptcy, and divorce and family law. This book will be of particular interest to legal scholars and specialists in contract law. Economics and public policy planners will also be challenged by its novel arguments. Contributors. Gregory S. Alexander, Margaret F. Brinig, F. H. Buckley, Robert Cooter, Steven J. Eagle, Robert C. Ellickson, Richard A. Epstein, William A. Fischel, Michael Klausner, Bruce H. Kobayashi, Geoffrey P. Miller, Timothy J. Muris, Robert H. Nelson, Eric A. Posner, Robert K. Rasmussen, Larry E. Ribstein, Roberta Romano, Paul H. Rubin, Alan Schwartz, Elizabeth S. Scott, Robert E. Scott, Michael J. Trebilcock
The Fall of Richard Nixon: A Reporter Remembers Watergate
by Tom BrokawBestselling author Tom Brokaw brings readers inside the White House press corps in this up-close and personal account of the fall of an American president. In August 1974, after his involvement in the Watergate scandal could no longer be denied, Richard Nixon became the first and only president to resign from office in anticipation of certain impeachment. The year preceding that moment was filled with shocking revelations and bizarre events, full of power politics, legal jujitsu, and high-stakes showdowns, and with head-shaking surprises every day. As the country’s top reporters worked to discover the truth, the public was overwhelmed by the confusing and almost unbelievable stories about activities in the Oval Office. Tom Brokaw, the young NBC News White House correspondent at the time, gives us a nuanced and thoughtful chronicle, recalling the players, the strategies, and the highs and lows of the scandal that brought down a president. He takes readers from crowds of shouting protesters to shocking press conferences, from meetings with Attorney General Elliot Richardson and White House Chief of Staff Alexander Haig, to overseas missions alongside Henry Kissinger. He recounts Nixon’s claims of executive privilege to withhold White House tape recordings of Oval Office conversations; the bribery scandal that led to the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew and the choice of Gerald Ford as VP; the firing of Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox; how in the midst of Watergate Nixon organized emergency military relief for Israel during the Yom Kippur war; the unanimous decision of the Supreme Court that required Nixon to turn over the tapes; and other insider moments from this important and dramatic period and event. The Fall of Richard Nixon allows readers to experience this American epic from the perspective of a journalist on the ground and at the center of it all during this historic time.Advance praise for The Fall of Richard Nixon “A divided nation. A deeply controversial president. Powerful passions. No, it’s not what you’re thinking, but Tom Brokaw knows that the past can be prologue, and he’s given us an absorbing and illuminating firsthand account of how Richard Nixon fell from power. Part history, part memoir, Brokaw’s book reminds us of the importance of journalism, the significance of facts, and the inherent complexity of power in America.”—Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Soul of America
The Fall of the FBI: How a Once Great Agency Became a Threat to Democracy
by Thomas J. BakerAn FBI veteran explains how the Mueller–Comey cabal turned the FBI from a &“swear to tell the truth&” law-enforcement agency to a politicized intelligence organization.Americans have lost faith in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, an institution they once regarded as the world&’s greatest law-enforcement agency. Thomas Baker spent many years with the FBI and is deeply troubled by this loss of faith. Specific lapses have come to light and each is thoroughly discussed in this book: Why did they happen? What changed? The answer begins days after the 9/11 attacks when the FBI underwent a significant change in culture. To understand how far the Bureau has fallen, this book shows the crucial role played by the FBI and its agents in past decades. It was quite often, as the reader will see from these firsthand experiences, a fun-filled adventure with exciting skyjackings, kidnappings, and bank robberies. At the same time, the reader will see the reverence the Bureau had for the Constitution and the concern agents held for the rights of each American. This book is not mere memoir—it is history. From the shooting of President Reagan and the death of Princess Diana to the TWA 800 crash and even getting marching orders from St. Mother Teresa, Baker&’s story shows how the FBI has played a pivotal role in our country&’s history.
The Fall of the Wild: Extinction, De-Extinction, and the Ethics of Conservation
by Ben A. MinteerThe passenger pigeon, the great auk, the Tasmanian tiger—the memory of these vanished species haunts the fight against extinction. Seeking to save other creatures from their fate in an age of accelerating biodiversity loss, wildlife advocates have become captivated by a narrative of heroic conservation efforts. A range of technological and policy strategies, from the traditional, such as regulations and refuges, to the novel—the scientific wizardry of genetic engineering and synthetic biology—seemingly promise solutions to the extinction crisis.In The Fall of the Wild, Ben A. Minteer calls for reflection on the ethical dilemmas of species loss and recovery in an increasingly human-driven world. He asks an unsettling but necessary question: Might our well-meaning efforts to save and restore wildlife pose a threat to the ideal of preserving a world that isn’t completely under the human thumb? Minteer probes the tension between our impulse to do whatever it takes and the risk of pursuing strategies that undermine our broader commitment to the preservation of wildness. From collecting wildlife specimens for museums and the wilderness aspirations of zoos to visions of “assisted colonization” of new habitats and high-tech attempts to revive long-extinct species, he explores the scientific and ethical concerns vexing conservation today. The Fall of the Wild is a nuanced treatment of the deeper moral issues underpinning the quest to save species on the brink of extinction and an accessible intervention in debates over the principles and practice of nature conservation.
The Fall: A Novel (Dismas Hardy #16)
by John LescroartFrom New York Times bestselling author John Lescroart, a riveting new novel of legal suspense featuring Dismas Hardy and his daughter, Rebecca, now grown up and an associate in Hardy's law firm.Late one night, a teenage African American foster child named Tanya Morgan plummets to her death from the overpass above San Francisco's Stockton tunnel. But did she fall...or was she pushed? Rushing to produce a convictable suspect in the glare of the media spotlight, homicide inspectors focus their attention on a naïve young man named Greg Treadway. Greg is a middle school teacher and he volunteers as a Special Advocate for foster children. At first, the only thing connecting him to Tanya's death is the fact that they shared a meal earlier that night. But soon enough, elements of that story seem to fall apart...and Hardy's daughter, Rebecca, finds herself drawn into the young man's defense. By the time Greg's murder trial gets underway, Dismas and Rebecca have unearthed several other theories about the crime: a missing stepfather who'd sexually assaulted her; a roommate who ran a call girl service; a psychologically unstable birth mother; and a mysterious homeless man who may have had dealings with Tanya. Or Greg Treadway himself, who is perhaps not all that he first appeared. But how will they get these theories in front of a jury? And if they can, what price will they have to pay? With signature suspense and intricate plotting, The Fall puts Dismas Hardy and his only daughter in the middle of one of John Lescroart's most complex and thrilling cases yet.
The Fall: A complex and gripping legal thriller (Dismas Hardy Ser. #16)
by John LescroartFrom John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author, comes The Fall - the riveting legal thriller featuring Dismas Hardy and introducing his daughter Rebecca. Perfect for fans of John Grisham and Michael Connelly.'The best legal thriller I have read in years' - Brad ThorLate one night, fostered teen Anlya Paulson plummets to her death from the overpass above San Francisco's Stockton tunnel.But did she fall...or was she pushed?Rushing to produce a suspect, homicide inspectors focus on naïve school teacher Greg Treadway, who volunteers as a Special Advocate for foster children. But by the time Greg's murder trial is underway, lawyer Dismas Hardy and his daughter, Rebecca, have unearthed some alternative harrowing possibilities: a missing stepfather, a roommate who ran an escort service, and even Anlya's own birth mother.How will they get these theories in front of the jury? And, if they can, what price will they have to pay?What readers are saying about The Fall:'The Fall is another brilliant example of why John Lescroart is one of the world's most popular authors of legal thrillers today''A murder mystery with many twists and turns and a totally unexpected ending''I feel as if I know these people, despite the fact they are fictional characters'
The Fallacy of Corporate Moral Agency
by David RönnegardIt is uncontroversial that corporations are legal agents that can be held legally responsible, but can corporations also be moral agents that are morally responsible? Part one of this book explicates the most prominent theories of corporate moral agency and provides a detailed debunking of why corporate moral agency is a fallacy. This implies that talk of corporate moral responsibilities, beyond the mere metaphorical, is essentially meaningless. Part two takes the fallacy of corporate moral agency as its premise and spells out its implications. It shows how prominent normative theories within Corporate Social Responsibility, such as Stakeholder Theory and Social Contract Theory, rest on an implicit assumption of corporate moral agency. In this metaphysical respect such theories are untenable. In order to provide a more robust metaphysical foundation for corporations the book explicates the development of the corporate legal form in the US and UK, which displays how the corporation has come to have its current legal attributes. This historical evolution shows that the corporation is a legal fiction created by the state in order to serve both public and private goals. The normative implication for corporate accountability is that citizens of democratic states ought to primarily make calls for legal enactments in order to hold the corporate legal instruments accountable to their preferences.
The Fallacy of Net Neutrality
by Thomas W Hazlett"There is little dispute that the Internet should continue as an open platform," notes the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Yet, in a curious twist of logic, the agency has moved to discontinue the legal regime successfully yielding that magnificent platform. In late 2010, it imposed "network neutrality" regulations on broadband access providers, both wired and wireless. Networks cannot (a) block subscribers' use of certain devices, applications, or services; (b) unreasonably discriminate, offering superior access for some services over others. The Commission argues that such rules are necessary, as the Internet was designed to bar "gatekeepers." The view is faulty, both in it engineering claims and its economic conclusions. Networks routinely manage traffic and often bundle content with data transport precisely because such coordination produces superior service. When "walled gardens" emerge, including AOL in 1995, Japan's DoCoMo iMode in 1999, or Apple's iPhone in 2007, they often disrupt old business models, thrilling consumers, providing golden opportunities for application developers, advancing Internet growth. In some cases these gardens have dropped their walls; others remain vibrant. The "open Internet" allows consumers, investors, and innovators to choose, discovering efficiencies. The FCC has mistaken that spontaneous market process for a planned market structure, imposing new rules to "protect" what evolved without them.
The Falls
by Ian RankinThe twelfth Inspector Rebus bestseller - a powerfully gripping novel where past and present collide...From the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES'This is, quite simply, crime writing of the highest order' DAILY EXPRESS'The unopposed champion of the British police procedural' GUARDIANA student has gone missing in Edinburgh. She's not just any student, though, but the daughter of well-to-do and influential bankers. There's almost nothing to go on until DI John Rebus gets an unmistakable gut feeling that there's more to this than just another runaway spaced out on unaccustomed freedom. Two leads emerge: a carved wooden doll in a toy coffin, found in the student's home village, and an internet role-playing game. The ancient and the modern, brought together by uncomfortable circumstance...
The Falls (A Rebus Novel)
by Ian RankinThe twelfth Inspector Rebus bestseller - a powerfully gripping novel where past and present collide...From the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES'This is, quite simply, crime writing of the highest order' DAILY EXPRESS'The unopposed champion of the British police procedural' GUARDIANA student has gone missing in Edinburgh. She's not just any student, though, but the daughter of well-to-do and influential bankers. There's almost nothing to go on until DI John Rebus gets an unmistakable gut feeling that there's more to this than just another runaway spaced out on unaccustomed freedom. Two leads emerge: a carved wooden doll in a toy coffin, found in the student's home village, and an internet role-playing game. The ancient and the modern, brought together by uncomfortable circumstance...