A pardoned power broker becomes bait in the deadliest auction on earth.
Who drives the story
Washington's fallen kingmaker, serving twenty years for trying to sell a satellite he can identify but never named. Pardoned as bait, he survives by reading rooms, learning Italian, and finally selling the truth back to the agency that used him.
The CIA director who engineers Backman's pardon in the presidency's final hours, gambling a man's life to learn who built the satellite. Manipulative to the end, he watches his trap spring and then lose its prey.
Joel's lawyer son, working covertly from Washington after a secret phone call reveals his father is alive. He becomes the broker's broker, arranging the deal that ends the manhunt.
A Bologna local who helps Backman practice Italian and offers him a glimpse of the life he might have had. He can never quite decide whether her friendship is real or assigned.
Also in the story
Backman's handler in Bologna, drilling him daily in Italian language and culture. His lessons are genuine; the purpose behind them is not.
The CIA operative on the military plane who explains the new identity and the move to Bologna. The friendly face of an operation designed to get Backman killed.
How they are connected
Neal BackmanJoel Backman / Marco Lazzeri
Joel's lawyer son, working covertly from Washington after a secret phone call reveals his father is alive.
Go deeper
A man as bait · Identity as survival kit · Information is the only currency · The cage you can't see
Themes explainedThe full story act by act, the ending explained and a quick quiz.
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