In the tumultuous spring of 1968 a young English woman, Rose, travels from London to the United States to meet a man she knows as Washington Harold. In her suitcase are a polka dot dress and a one-way ticket. In an America recently convulsed by the April assassination of Martin Luther King and subsequent urban riots, they begin a search for the charismatic and elusive Dr. Wheeler—sage, prophet, and possibly, redeemer—who rescued Rose from a dreadful childhood and against whom Harold holds a seething grudge. As they follow their quarry cross-country in a camper they encounter the odd remnants of Wheeler acolytes who harbor festering cultural and political grievances. Along the way, a famous artist is shot in New York, mutilated soldiers are evacuated from Vietnam, race hatred explodes in ghettos and suburbs, and casual madness blossoms at revival meetings. Many believe America's only hope is presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, whose campaign trail echoes Rose and Harold's pilgrimage. Both will conclude in Los Angeles at the Ambassador Hotel one infamous night in June. Subversive, sinister, and marvelously vivid, Beryl Bainbridge's great last novel evokes a nation on the brink of self-destruction with artful brilliance.
- Everyone Reads: Social Emotional Learning
- Lonely Planet Travel Guides
- Spotlight on: Mental Health
- Deaf Culture, Experience, and History
- Autism Awareness
- Employment and Career Resources
- Black Lives Matter - Books for Young People
- Celebrate National Native American Heritage
- Latinx Authors
- Anti-Racist Reading
- Schomburg Center Black Liberation Reading List
- Books to Battle Quarantine Sleep Problems
- Never, Never, Never Give Up
- See all
- Newly added eBooks with no wait lists!
- eBooks: Best 2022 Adult Fiction Titles
- Most popular
- Just Added
- Books in Spanish/Libros en Español
- SciFi Old & New, Contemporary & Classic
- Read-Along Books
- Popular Mysteries
- Try something different
- Why Wait? Always Available Classics
- Comics and Graphic Novels
- Escape into History: Historical fiction
- Manga for Grownups
- See all
- All New Always Available Audio
- It's Your Lucky Day! Audiobooks+
- eAudio: Best 2022 Adult Fiction Titles
- Modern Scholar Audiobooks - NO WAITING!
- Legacy Washington Audio Collection - Listen NOW!
- Most popular
- Just Added
- Spanish/Audiolibros en Español
- Stranger than Fiction
- Try something different
- Family Road Trip Audiobooks
- You can't hit pause on these thrillers
- Best Audiobooks under 3 Hours
- See all
- 2023 Washington State Book Award Finalists (WSBA)
- Best of 2022: Adult Nonfiction
- Now's Your Chance!
- En español - lo nuestro
- Microhistories - Get down in the weeds with these intriguing titles!
- D-Day, June 6, 1944
- Unreliable Narrators
- Bibliotherapy
- Steampunk
- Dealing with Addiction
- Historical Fiction
- Presidents and Politics
- Laughing all the way to the bank
- See all