Shadowy and well-financed interests want to funnel five million dollars to rebels in the Philippine mountains, to fund the violent revolt against the fledgling Aquino government. But the rebel leader trusts no one but Booth Stallings, a terrorism expert who fought by his side during World War II. Stallings isn’t interested in Philippine power squabbles, but he is deeply interested in five million dollars. In order to reroute the cash to his own pocket, Stallings needs the kind of help that can only be provided by the most inventive confidence artists in the hemisphere: the wily Artie Wu, pretender to the throne of China, and his occasionally explosive partner Quincey Durant. The trail to the Chinese mastermind goes through the number one connection in the U.S., Otherguy Overby — a legendary con man in his own right. But before Stallings finds Wu, he discovers that the money men have provided an obstacle. Georgia Blue, the toughest lady bodyguard in Washington, has been assigned to stick to him until he reaches the rebel camp. Throw in a depraved Australian by the name of Boy Howdy, an unpredictably volatile young woman with ties to the rebel leader, a pair of CIA operatives, an assortment of killings, and you have the most intricate labyrinth ever penned by Ross Thomas