An absorbing thriller; the portrait of a society in which the road to success is often the result of dubious intrigues. The death of a branch bank manager leads to the discovery of enormous embezzlement; the sons of the suppposed criminal become the main suspects themselves. But the exercise of justice is possibly the less serious consequence of a situation in which the dark personality of their father brings to light an unsettling legacy, which they must confront. This novel is something of a social and family chronicle; with a mastery of the literary matter not commonly seen, it reflects upon the father-son relationship, inheritance as a burden to be shouldered and the cutting of fraternal bonds. The author is control of the plot and slowly deals out information so that the reader becomes progressively more involved in a story loaded with secrets and half-truths.