THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES No.1 BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE
'A defining book of our time' - The Times
'The master of the non-fiction narrative' - The Sunday Times
'A masterpiece' - The Observer
'Compulsive' - The Guardian
'Exquisite . . . a masterpiece' Financial Times
'Breathtaking' - Jon Ronson
'Completely engrossing' - Louis Theroux
'Phenomenal' - Emily Maitlis
'More addictive than any box set' - Sathnam Sanghera
A book of the summer in The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Irish Times, The New York Times, Financial Times and The Atlantic
From the Baillie Gifford Prize-winning and Sunday Times bestselling author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing comes a riveting story of wealth, violence and deceit at the heart of a glittering city.
In 2019, a London teenager, Zac Brettler, fell to his death from a luxury apartment building on the banks of the Thames. On a desperate quest to understand how their son had died, his grieving parents made a terrible discovery: Zac had been leading a fantasy life, posing as the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch.
Patrick Radden Keefe follows Zac's parents on a dark journey to find out what brought him to the balcony that night - and how a teenager's life of make-believe drew him into the city's terrifying underworld.
Hardback | 384 pages | Published April 2026
