Sebastian von Eschburg, scion of a wealthy, self-destructive family, survived his disastrous childhood to become a celebrated if controversial artist. He casts a provocative shadow over the Berlin scene; his disturbing photographs and installations show that truth and reality are two distinct things. When Sebastian is accused of murdering a young woman and the police investigation takes a sinister turn, seasoned lawyer Konrad Biegler agrees to represent him - and hopes to help himself in the process. But Biegler soon learns that nothing about the case, or the suspect, is what it appears.
Ferdinand von Schirach was born in Munich in 1964. Today he works in Berlin and is one of Germany's most prominent defence lawyers. His short story collections Crime and Guilt and novels The Collini Case and The Girl Who Wasn't There were instant bestsellers in Germany, and his work has been translated into over thirty languages. Film adaptations of his stories are under way.