A daring fraud makes one man a titan, and brings a nation to its knees

The son of a failing undertaker, Alves Reis was young when he realizedlearned early on that death comes quickly and a man must make his fortune while he can. In 1916, Reis he leftaves Portugal for Angola, where the hardships of colonial life dashed his dream of easy riches. But it is then, at his mostIn desperate straits, that Alves discovers his true talent: forgery.

With an unerring hand, Alves begins to counterfeit. He falsifies diplomas, government documents, currency, and countless checks on his way to perpetrating one of the greatest frauds of the tTwentieth Ccentury. Inspired by the true story of a master swindler, Gifford brings to life a breathtaking international scam. Before Bernie Madoff, before Frank Abagnale, there was Alves Reis—a master forger with talent, vision, and an uncompromising drive to succeed, no matter what man, bank, or nation stood in his way.

(From Goodreads)