In Hartford, Connecticut, during the early 1950s, twin boys are separated at birth. Fletcher and Nat attend competing colleges, fall for the same girl, and have best friends who are the sons of movers and shakers. In the 1960s, Nat is drafted and becomes a hero in Vietnam, while Fletcher goes into law. By the 1990s, Nats an affluent banker, and Fletchers a politico on the rise; then, inevitably, their paths come together. Archers long-anticipated new novel is sure to garner loads of publicity, but much of it may have little to do with the quality of the book: the former Olympic athlete and fabulously wealthy novelist, once a member of the British House of Lords, is currently serving a four-year prison sentence for perjury. Is the novel good? Its actually pretty standard stuff from Archer, author of such best-sellers as The Fourth Estate (1996): broad-stroke character portraits painted on a large canvas, a two-dimensional but somehow compelling saga of ambition and destiny. Fans will be quite pleased, while his critics will note all the usual deficiencies, among them a largely wooden supporting cast and dialogue that is often ludicrous. In a nutshell: a typically slick, well-written, but shallow novel that will benefit from the authors notoriety. David Pitt