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?