From the authors of the bizarre and extraordinary Q comes this equally bizarre and powerful thriller about

the Cold War.

The year is 1954. The world is divided into East and West. In Naples, Lucky Luciano is busy fixing horse-races and overseeing the creation of the global heroin trade. In Hollywood, members of Her Majesty’s Secret Service have a bizarre and dangerous mission for Cary Grant. And in Bologna, a lovelorn young barman is about to embark on a painful odyssey in search of his missing father. Bringing all of these strands and more together is a missing television set, a McGuffin Electric, an appliance with a very special secret.

At once a political thriller and a touching romance, 54 features appearances by Alfred Hitchcock, Marshal Tito and the Emperor of Indochina. Wu Ming — the collective formerly known as Luther Blissett — have produced another tour-de-force which paints a dazzling picture of a past age while slyly commenting on our own.