Shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize A chef, a portraitist and a barber are taken hostage in a coup to overthrow their boss, the President. They are held captive in the President's summer residence in the mountains while far below them, the capital swelters as chaos reigns. Meanwhile, the chef's daughter, the portraitist's pregnant wife and the barber's lover await their own fates, their love as dangerous a liability as any political affiliation. In her stunning debut novel, award-winning author Ceridwen Dovey reveals how humanity's most atavistic impulses - vanity, vengeance and greed - seethe, relentlessly, just beneath the surface of civilization. 'A story about how the lightest taste of power so easily stimulates our limitless appetite for sadism. Dovey ...presents her case so meticulously and relentlessly that you've got to respect her authority. New York Times Sunday Book Review 'A lovely, haunting novel, written with great care and precision ...a really fine debut.' Colum McCann, author of Let The Great World Spin 'A meticulously constructed story about political corruption and its impact on people's lives ...ingenious.' Sydney Morning Herald