A compelling and frank account of Rushdie's experience of going underground following the fatwa, the death sentence the Ayatollah Khomeini declared against him in 1989, for the publication of "The Satanic Verses". Rushdie moved from house to house with the constant presence of an armed police protection team, and adopted the name Joseph Anton, after his favourite authors Conrad and Chekhov. Provocative, moving and of vital importance and relevance to today's world.