Kisses of the Enemy is a novel as much about the human character as about superpower ruthlessness. It is set in the near future, during the early years of Australia's first republic, and follows the career of Bernard Buchanan, the country's leader - a dangerous fool presiding over his own decline. Brimming with wit and irony, Kisses of the Enemy is a monument not only to fine portraiture and beautiful, hypnotic language, but also to the art of prophecy.