Catherine has been married for many years to Murat, an influential Turkish real estate developer, and they have a young son, William. But when she decides to return home to the United States with William and her lover, Peter, Murat takes a stand. He enlists the help of an American diplomat to prevent them from going—and, in so doing, becomes further enmeshed in a web of deception and corruption. As the hidden architecture of these relationships is gradually exposed, we move to the heart of intersecting worlds populated by struggling artists, wealthy businessmen, expats, spies. And, at the center, a child torn between his parents. Riveting and perceptive, is a novel of personal and political intrigue, a portrait of a nation on the brink.