Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0385311214, Hardcover)

In 1866, tragedy strikes at the  exclusive Windfield School. A young student drowns  in a mysterious accident involving a small circle  of boys. The drowning and its aftermath initiates a  spiraling circle of treachery that will span three  decades and entwine many loves. . . From the  exclusive men's club and brothels that cater to every  dark desire of London's upper classes to the  dazzling ballrooms and mahogany-paneled suites of the  manipulators of the world's wealth, Ken Follett  conjures up a stunning array of contrasts. This  breathtaking novel portrays a family splintered by lust,  bound by a shared legacy. . . men and women swept  toward a perilous climax where greed, fed by the  shocking truth of a boy's death, must be stopped,  or not just one man's dreams, but those of a  nation, will die. . .