John Torberg had an enviable life. He attended the best schools, was editor of his high school and college newspapers, and was hired by the most prestigious newspaper in Washington, D.C. He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for a series on how U.S. pharmaceutical companies were selling drugs to third world countries--drugs that failed to obtain Federal Drug Administration approval. Now, while investigating a Supreme Court justice, he stumbles upon evidence that may earn him another Pulitzer. But before he can write the story, two sources he relies upon are murdered. And then he himself is kidnapped. Once released, he travels to Moscow to follow a lead. A Soviet agent delivers a tape recording that proves his parents are not who they say they are. He realizes he has missed several clues along the way. He surmises that his early life was a complete lie.