A tense literary thriller about a frustrated young journalist on the trail of an oil industry conspiracy.
Dave Kotzner is a jaded twenty-something business magazine hack with an unhealthy lifestyle and a moribund love life — but everything changes after he gets a cryptic tip-off from an oil company executive.
He’s skeptical – he’s heard too much corporate hype in his dead-end job, and his boss would rather he spend time pleasing advertisers than chasing stories. But when his source goes missing and he is stonewalled by the company, Dave knows he’s on to something.
Dave’s pursuit leads him around the world — from New Orleans to London, Berlin to Tokyo. He meets and clumsily woos a glamorous but unnecessarily difficult Englishwoman, loses his job, ruins his credit rating and drinks too much for his own good. Eventually he uncovers — or thinks he uncovers — a conspiracy to hide a technology that would transform the world. The ending is surprising and uplifting, and as a bonus, includes a car chase.