(Finalist for the Prix Goncourt) Elite Manhattan criminal defense attorney Sam Tahar seems to have it all: fame, fortune, good looks, and a wonderful family, but his life is a house of cards; everything that he has achieved stems from a single lie he told in a moment of weakness. Born to a poor Muslim family in a Parisian slum, Sam befriended Jewish student Samuel Baron at law school, but after the alluring Nina chooses Samuel over him, Sam assumes his friend's identity and departs for America. An international bestseller, Karine Tuil's darkly funny novel chronicles what happens when the two erstwhile friends and Nina meet again after 20 years have passed.

"Suspenseful.... [A] Gatsby-esque odyssey laced with provocative observations of prejudice, politics, and sexism.... A secret lights the fuse on the twisty plot, but where it eventually explodes comes as a complete shock."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)