A brilliant and compulsively readable story of truth, lies and identity from one of Australia's finest writers. 'So then, here it is. The unadorned un - self - flattering gospel, the never - before - told story our intricately intertwined lives ... Listen: I know things that no one else knows. Trust me. ' Manhattan, 1996: the trial of the Vanderbilt claimant is finally coming to an end. The case - long, complex, riven with unknowns, attracting huge media and social interest - has been seeking to establish whether or not a certain man is the son of the fabulously wealthy and well - connected Vanderbilt family. The son went missing, presumed dead, while serving in the Vietnam war. There is huge fortune, prestige and status at stake. But is the man - a handsome cattle farmer from Queensland - really the Vanderbilt heir? And if so, why does he seem so reluctant to be found? From one of our foremost novelists, The Claimant is a compelling and ravishingly readable novel about the fluid, shifting and ultimately elusive nature of identity and the reasons why people seek to change their names, their identities or their personalities.