In the outer reaches of a country recently torn apart by civil war lives a small Christian sect and its enigmatic leader, Balashov. Anna Petrovna, a beautiful, restless photographer, is raising her young son by herself amid this brutal landscape. Stationed nearby is a company of Czech soldiers, desperate to get home but on the losing side of the recent conflict. Each soldier lives in a fragile co-existence and a troubling uncertainty prevails. Into this isolated community trudges Samarin, an escapee from Russia's northernmost prison camp. Immediately apprehended, he is brought before Captain Matula, the Czech company's megalomaniac commander. But the stranger's appearance has caught the attention of others, including that of Anna Petrovna. And when a local shaman is found murdered, suspicion and terror engulf this village. To be published in twenty countries, "The People's Act of Love" is quite simply magnificent storytelling and it promises to be an auspicious literary event.

詹姆斯·米克(James Meek)，英国作家，记者。1962年生于伦敦，在苏格兰的邓迪长大。1985年起成为一名记者。1991年至l999年居住在俄罗斯。现定居伦敦，为《卫报》和《伦敦书评》撰稿。2004年，他对伊拉克和关塔那摩的报道赢得了多项英国和国际奖项。《蚀爱》是他的第三部小说，已被译成二十种文字。