Stephen L. Carter is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale University, where he has taught since 1982. He is also the author of the bestselling novels The Emperor of Ocean Park and New England White, and several books of non-fiction. He and his family live near New Haven, Connecticut.

"A brilliant literary thriller, packed with insight, intelligence and ideas...Eye-opening and absorbing: I really couldn't put it down" Literary Review "Carter employs conspiratorial and paranoid plotting to highlight the reality of American political division ...skilled at injecting pace and tension...a historical thriller that efficiently delivers both thrills and history, especially in the still under-developed chronicles of black America" -- Mark Lawson Guardian "Intricate plotting... richly involving" Independent "Crisp and enthralling...an ambitious novel...that covers the social, political and cultural changes in post-war America from the point of view of the black elite" Daily Telegraph "Insights into a realm little known in the UK" The Times