A thought provoking book. Set on a Caribbean island: A scientist is drawn, against his will, into working for a dictator. At first the scientist is quite unappealing but as the story progresses we get under his skin and start understanding him and sympathising with him. This book explores issues such as superstition vs science, the ethics of experimenting on living beings, and the different ways that "goodness" can manifest.

A book without a straightforward moral message. Thought provoking and quite disturbing.