From the bestselling author of The People's Act of Love

The message was short.

'I want to see you now. I want you to come to me, it doesn't matter how late it is, and tell me exactly what you want from me.'

At the dawn of the twenty-first century Adam Kellas finds himself hurled on a journey between continents and cultures. In his quest from the war-torn mountains of Afghanistan to the elegant dinner tables of north London and then the marshlands of the American South, only the memory of the beautiful, elusive Astrid offers the possibility of hope.

With all the explosive drama of The People's Act of Love, this is a spellbinding tale of folly and the pursuit of love from one of today's most talented and visionary writers.

James Meek has won the Ondaatje Prize, the Saltire Award, the Macmillan Silver Pen and been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. We Are Now Beginning Our Descent won the 2008 Prince Maurice Prize.

'Astonishing. A love story that owes everything to the great collision of bin Laden and Bush Jr's foreign policy. Wholly original.'
The Times

'Damnably hard to put down, with the momentum and trajectory of a well-aimed rocket. A book to keep one reading through the small hours. Terrific.'
Jonathan Raban, London Review of Books

'A highly intelligent novel and edgily contemporary.'
Independent