Martin Odum is a CIA field agent turned private detective, struggling his way through a labyrinth of past identities-"legends" in CIA parlance. Is he really Martin Odum? Or is he Dante Pippen, an IRA explosives maven? Or Lincoln Dittmann, Civil War expert? These men like different foods, speak different languages, have different skills. Is he suffering from multiple personality disorder, brainwashing, or simply exhaustion? Can Odum trust the CIA psychiatrist? Or Stella Kastner, a young Russian woman who engages him to find her brother-in-law so he can give her sister a divorce? As Odum redeploys his dormant tradecraft skills to solve Stella's case, he travels the globe battling mortal danger and psychological disorientation.
"Littell provides plenty of inside intelligence info in his superb new thriller, but he adds a decidedly comic spin…Wonderful writing and a great sense of fun make this another winner."
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Littell…delivers a smart, fun, strange adventure in the legendary tradition of Odysseus, yet another wily trickster who boasts to his peril that he is 'no man.'"
