A motley crew of characters deftly woven into a brilliant mashup of spy novel and art-world parody. We know how Simone met the man who will become, for a time, her fourth husband. We know what she does (artist), her friends (a veritable menagerie), her habits (frustrated homebody). What remains to be learned are the things she still doesn't fully understand herself, like her role in the affair of the Port Merveille diamond, also known as the Supreme Orchestra. This novel is many things at once: a geopolitical thriller, an art-world expos?ʼ, a digressive social study, a mischievous parody.