What happens when the secret you've hidden from everyone, even yourself, finally breaks out? This question provides the dramatic premise for Tim O'Brien's brilliant new novel, and it drives a narrative of astonishing force and resonance.

On a lake deep in Minnesota's north woods, John and Kathy Wade are trying to reassemble their lives. John, a rising political star, has just suffered a devastating political defeat. Kathy attempts to comfort her husband but soon it becomes apparent that something is horribly wrong between them, that they have hidden too much from each other.

Then one day Kathy vanishes. Their boat is gone-did she drown or is she lost? Or did she flee, disappearing into a new life? As a massive search gets under way, the possibilities mulitply in terrifying directions. Uncovering the truth requires an investigation of Wade's life, and gradually we come to see that he is a sorcerer lost inside his own magic, a Houdini capable of escaping everything but the chains of his darkest secret.

As Tim O'Brien tells the story of a marriage built on deceit, he vividly illuminates the shifting, sometimes terrifying shape of the human heart. This beautifully crafted novel marks a new level of artistry for one of America's most gifted writers.