Prologue NOAH SIX WEEKS AGO Manhattan, New York City Friday afternoon There’s only one thing worse than coming home bloody drunk, and that’s being bloody drunk in an airport. New York just happens to have one of the worst. Hell, I’d love to blame the men at the bar paying for the many shots at the hotel but honestly? I’ve been scotch drunk for the past two days. Ever since I got that phone call. And I won’t even mention what the hell happened last night… Not that I remember much, anyway. As usual, drinks were everywhere and so were women. The drinks I shared with the blonde at the Fado Bar last night in Sydney are still swimming in my system as I shuffle off the plane, half-pissed, my eyes bleary, head beating as I walk out of the airport terminal, the latest Stephen King book

