Joel Backman aka Marco Lazzeri

Joel Backman was once a very powerful lawyer in Washington DC, whose clients were often powerful companies and countries who sought to influence American policy. Backman was arrogant, a womanizer as famous for his many affairs as his business deals. However, six years ago Backman plead guilty to multiple counts of unauthorized possession of military documents. Backman was sentenced to twenty years in federal prison. As the novel begins, the current president is in his final hours of office and has been persuaded by the head of the CIA to offer Backman a pardon. Backman has no knowledge of this deal and is as surprised as everyone else when he learns he details.

Backman is quickly taken out of the United States and hidden in Italy, where he lives under an assumed name and is forced to spend his days learning Italian. Backman believes...