Carl Strassberger has chosen the life of an artist in France rather than join the family banking empire. But he returns home when his brilliant brother-in-law, Larry Lucas, vanishes. Carl soon learns that Larry suffers from a severe mental disorder; and he must risk everything to track down the sick and cunning man who lives on the edge of sanity.

Amazon.com Review
Morris West, Australia's gift to popular literature, has the enviable ability to thrust readers into a compelling story with very few wasted words. By page four of this exciting and moving thriller, we know that Carl Strassberger is an artist and art historian living in the South of France; that he has given up (by choice) his role as heir apparent to the leadership of a large New York banking firm in favor of his brilliant brother-in-law, Larry Lucas; and that just one phone call from his beloved father can send him running from his perfect life into a nightmare of madness and danger to himself and his family's business. West has always been fascinated with manic depression, and here he brings the condition to palpable life, making it a major character in a book full of colorful people and places. Some of West's other novels available in paperback are: The Clowns of God, The Devil's Advocate, Harlequin, Lazarus, and The Lovers.