His first two novels established Mohsin Hamid as a radically inventive storyteller with his finger on the world's pulse. This bookmeets that reputation - and exceeds it. It is the astonishing and riveting tale of a man's journey from impoverished rural boy to corporate tycoon, it steals its shape from the business self-help books devoured by ambitious youths all over "rising Asia." It follows its nameless hero to the sprawling metropolis where he begins to amass an empire built on that most scarce, of goods: water. Yet his heart remains set on the pretty girl whose star rises along with his, their paths crossing and re-crossing, a lifelong affair sparked and snuffed and sparked again by the forces that careen their fates along.