Penguin Books Australia

In this keenly-awaited follow-up to his bestselling The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid confirms his place as a radically inventive story-teller with his finger on the world's pulse.

The astonishing and riveting tale of a man's journey from impoverished rural boy to corporate tycoon, it steals its shape from the business self-help books devoured by youths all over 'rising Asia'. It follows its nameless hero to the sprawling metropolis where he begins to amass an empire built on the most fluid and increasingly scarce of goods: water. Yet his heart remains set on something else, on the pretty girl whose star rises alongside his, their paths crossing and re-crossing in a love affair sparked and snuffed out again by the forces that careen their fates along.

The hero of the story could be any one of us, hungry for a different life. And ours too could be the fate that awaits him . . .

'Even more intriguing, compelling and moving that The Reluctant Fundamentalist. A marvellous book.' Philip Pullman

'This brilliantly structured, deeply felt novel is written with the confidence and bravura of a man born to write. Hamid is at the peak of his considerable powers hers, and delivers a tightly paced, preternaturally wise book about a thoroughly likable, thoroughly troubled striver in the messiest, most chaotic ring of global economy. Completely unforgettable.' Dave Eggers