On an island of glitz, in a season of ambition, Philip Randall is getting what everyone wants. A rising career in a big New York law firm. A rich and beautiful wife. A cavernous downtown loft. And enough disposable income to turn Manhattan into a movable feast. So why is Philip testing fate by sleeping with his best friend's wife? And who is the man watching every move Philip makes-and waiting to make a move of his own?

Set against a glittering backdrop of success, money, and power, this tale of a brilliantly calculating "man on the rise" has sent waves of anticipation through the literary world. Heralding the debut of a gifted young writer, it is a thriller for our time: funny, hip, and terrifying

On an island of glitz, in a season of ambition, Philip Randall is getting what everyone wants. A rising career in a big New York law firm. A rich and beautiful wife. A cavernous downtown loft. And enough disposable income to turn Manhattan into a movable feast. So why is Philip testing fate by sleeping with his best friend's wife? And who is the man watching every move Philip makes—and waiting to make a move of his own?

It's not that Philip is oblivious to risk—far from it. With his father-in-law's money feathering his nest, with his taste buds accustomed to the best of everything, he knows how far and how fast he could fall. But the thrills he gets from dancing on the edge are too delicious to pass up.

Of course, Philip and his lover are always discreet. They use an out-of-the-way hotel, enter separately, and leave apart. Yet for all his caution, Philip doesn't expect this new development: A man from his past, with a massive ax to grind, has come to settle a score—with blackmail.

For Philip Randall it's decision time. He can let his sociopathic former pal dismantle a life that has been one big, gluttonous party. Or take out the bastard--and maybe lose the last chance to regain his soul.