Penguin Modern Classics

''Dazzling ingenuity and cleverness'' Independent

Three con artists are on the make, and making millions. There''s Silas, the leader, slick and self-assured; Liz, his glamorous lover; and Bob, the young cockney upstart (who''s also falling for Liz). As this uneasy trio''s swindles take them from New York high-rises to sixties London, corrupt governments to, finally, the ultimate con in the Middle East, will their luck start to run out?

''For sheer readability he has no peer'' Evening Standard