
Tom Ripley is quietly living a life of luxury at his chateau at Villeperce & as ever is keeping one step ahead of the law
- he has after all a past that would not bear too much close scrutiny... The fifth novel featuring the protagonist Tom Ripley finds the sophisticated & amoral American expatriate being harassed by David Pritchard a fellow American whose boorishness marks him as something of Ripley's alter-ego. Inexplicably familiar with all the incriminating details of Ripley's past Pritchard is determined to expose him. He shadows Ripley's every move first spying on him at home in France & then following him to Morocco. Tensions build on the return to Villeperce as Pritchard sets out to locate a body Ripley would prefer remain hidden in a nearby river.