"Wonderfully terrifying novel from a leading thriller writer."—Le Monde

When David Ninochvili arrives from war-torn Georgia, the peaceful existence of a schoolteacher's family in Germany comes to an abrupt end. Christian Kestner has all but forgotten his stay in Tbilisi seven years before under Soviet rule, but when he receives a letter from David announcing his visit, he begins to worry. Why is David coming? To seek revenge for a relationship that Christian had with his wife? To conspire with one of the different factions now vying for the control of Georgia? Christian becomes intensely suspicious of David's secretive ways, jealous of the Georgian's attraction to his wife, and even resentful of his relationship with his teenage son. Fear turns into panic, a feeling so corrosive that it almost transforms this most rational individual into a monster.

Hans Werner Kettenbach came to writing late in life, publishing his first book at the age of fifty. His previous jobs include construction worker, court stenographer, football journalist, and foreign correspondent in New York. Five of his thrillers have been made into successful films, including Black Ice, previously published by Bitter Lemon Press.In 2009 he won the Glauser award (Germany's most prestigious crime writing prize) for lifetime literary achievement.