Thanks and brotherly love to a pair of old friends, Mark Aarons and Pierre Vicary, for allowing me to borrow aspects of their lives to meld into the fictional lives of key characters in this book and for their enduring political passion, their Balkan expertise and their fine companionship over many years.
Many thanks again to my literary mentor Richard Walsh, without whom neither of my novels would have existed. And my immense gratitude to the wonderful team at Allen & Unwin—Annette Barlow, Angela Handley, Rebecca Starford, Aziza Kuypers and Luke Causby—for their perceptive comments, judgement, editing and artistic talent.
Above all, to Sarah—it is simply impossible to thank you sufficiently for the enduring love which makes life worthwhile.