Pascal Mercier

Former Latin teacher Raimund Gegorius boards the night train to Lisbon, carrying with him a book by Amadeu de Prado, with whose work he becomes obsessed, and journeys all over the city in search of the truth about the author.

In a quiet seaside town near Genoa, experts are gathering for a linguistics conference. One speaker, Philipp Perlmann is recently widowed and, struggling to contend with his grief, is unable to complete his keynote address. As the hour approaches, an increasingly desperate Perlmann decides to plagiarize the work of Leskov, a Russian colleague who cannot attend, and pass it off as his own. But when word reaches Perlmann that Leskov has arrived unexpectedly in Genoa, Perlmann must protect himself from explosure by constructing a maelstrom of lies and deceit, which will lead him to the brink of murder.

From the author of the international bestseller Night Train to Lisbon, a riveting novel about a father's boundless love for his daughter as her obsessive desire to become a concert violinist drives them both to the brink of destruction.