Elmore Leonard, New York Times bestselling author and
"the hippest, funniest national treasure in sight" (Washington
Post), brings his trademark wit and inimitable style to this
twisting, gripping?and sometimes playful?tale of modern-day
piracy
Dara Barr, documentary filmmaker, is at the top of her game.
She's covered the rape of Bosnian women, neo-Nazi white
supremacists, and post-Katrina New Orleans, and has won awards for
all three. Now, looking for a bigger challenge, Dara and her
right-hand-man, Xavier LeBo, a six-foot-six, seventy-two-year-old
African American seafarer, head to Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa,
to film modern-day pirates hijacking merchant ships.
They learn soon enough that almost no one in the Middle East is
who he seems to be. The most successful pirate, driving his
Mercedes around Djibouti, appears to be a good guy, but his pal, a
cultured Saudi diplomat, has dubious connections. Billy Wynn, a
Texas billionaire, plays mysterious roles as the mood strikes him.
He's promised his girlfriend, Helene, a nifty fashion model, that
he'll marry her if she doesn't become seasick or bored while
circling the world on his yacht. And there's Jama Raisuli, a black
al Qaeda terrorist from Miami, who's vowed to blow up something
big.
What Dara and Xavier have to decide, besides the best way to
stay alive: Should they shoot the action as a documentary or turn
it into a Hollywood feature film?
