STEPHEN HUNTER spent two years in the United States Army and since 1971 has been on the staff of the Baltimore Sun, where he is now the film critic. He is the author of nine other novels, including Dirty White Boys, Point of Impact, The Master Sniper, and Tapestry of Spies, and the nonfiction book Violent Screen: A Critic’s 13 Years on the Front Lines of Movie Mayhem. He is the father of two children and lives in Baltimore, Maryland.