Reunited childhood friends confront their longings and failures in
this "engaging" novel by a Man Booker Prize-winning author (The New
York Times).
As children growing up in the English countryside, Henry Marshalson and
Cato Forbes were inseparable. But, as time went on, their lives took
different paths. For Henry, whose older brother would inherit his
father's estate, the United States called, with a professorship to teach
art history, while Cato devoted himself to the Catholic priesthood and a
mission in London. But when Henry's brother dies, leaving him sole heir
to his family's vast estate, Henry and Cato find themselves connecting
once more and reexamining the paths their lives have taken.
As Henry struggles to come to terms with his personal passions and
family obligations, and Cato fights against his religious doubts and
darker urges, both men find themselves entwined in a deadly intrigue
that could ruin not only their lives but also the lives of those they
hold dear.
A dizzying display of complex plotting, Henry and Cato was praised as
"Murdoch's finest novel" by Joyce Carol Oates, a spectacular combination
of thrilling action and moral philosophizing that will leave readers
spellbound.
