A mystery man with a borrowed name, just released from prison; the Godley family, descendants of world-famous scientist Adam Godley; a beautiful woman with an unusual request. With sparkling wit and intelligence, Booker Prize-winning John Banville revisits some of his most memorable figures, in a novel as mischievous as it is brilliantly conceived. A playful, multilayered novel of nostalgia, life and death, and quantum theory.