**“A brilliant novel, exquisitely precise in its analysis of evil twisting its way through ordinary lives.” —Claire Hopley, *Boston Globe*** From the Booker Prize-winning author of Sacred Hunger, a vivid, sinuous, profound, and entirely beguiling venture. —Richard Eder, Los Angeles Times. Set in the beautiful landscape and rich history of Umbria, Italy, Booker Prize-winning author Barry Unsworth has written a witty and illuminating work of contemporary manners and morals. The region where Hannibal defeated the Romans is now prey to a different type of invasion: outsiders buying villas with innocent and not so innocent dreams. Among those clustered along one hillside road are the Greens, a retired American couple seeking serenity; the Chapmans, whose dispute over a wall escalates into a feud of operatic proportions; and Fabio and Arturo, a gay couple who, searching for peace and self-sufficiency, find treachery instead. Add to this mix a wily and corrupt British building expert, and a lawyer who practices subterfuge and plans his client’s actions like military strategy, and you have a sharp, entertaining, and satisfyingly bittersweet work.