From the author hailed as "Japan's Agatha Christie" (The Sunday Times) and now available in English for the first time: a taut psychological thriller about the hidden demons that guide our convictions, our biases, and our deepest desires.

In the middle of the night, a car with two passengers drives off a pier. An elderly man drowns, but his young wife, Kumako Onizuka, lives. Kumako, with a past stained by yakuza entanglements and criminal activity, is accused of orchestrating the accident for a large insurance payout. Local journalist Moichi Akitani enjoys newfound success after writing a series of articles about the crime. Given her past, Kumako's guilt seems obvious to him, and as he portrays her as a devious femme fatale, the community turns against her.

Kumako's lawyers are hounded by the press, yet all the reporters can glean is her unwavering declaration of innocence. This amuses Akitani, who basks in the glory of his journalistic success. But when a surprisingly scrupulous public defender takes on her case, Akitani begins to doubt himself, and he fears what might happen if Kumako ever gets wind of the contempt he spread about her.

Seicho Matsumoto was born in 1909 in Fukuoka, Japan. Self-educated, Matsumoto published his first book when he was forty years old and he quickly established himself as a master of crime fiction. His exploration of human psychology and Japanese post-war malaise, coupled with the creation of twisting, dark mysteries, made him one of the most acclaimed and best-selling writers in Japan. He received the prestigious Akutagawa Literary Prize in 1950 and the Kikuchi Kan Prize in 1970. He died in 1992.​