Born Slippy

Frank Baltimore is down on his luck, scraping by as a carpenter and handyman in rural New England. His fortunes seem to turn when he lands a contract to build a mansion in the wealthy commuter suburbs outside Hartford. Among the crew is Dmitry, a magnetic eighteen-year-old from Liverpool who is spending the summer in America before starting university. Dmitry becomes fixated on Frank, a self-taught philosopher, apparently hoping that understanding what drives his boss will help him stop behaving so brutishly.

Dmitry later moves to Asia and builds a fortune through neo-imperial dealings, leaving a string of victims behind him. When his office tower in Taipei is destroyed in a huge blast, Frank follows him to Asia. There he falls for Dmitry's wife, and his situation deteriorates quickly.

The novel moves across continents and back and forth in time. It blends elements of literary thriller, noir and political satire into a dark, comic examination of masculinity and modern life under global capitalism.