A Harvest of Thorns
A Novel
Description
A beloved American corporation with an explosive secret. A disgraced former journalist looking for redemption. A corporate executive with nothing left to lose.
In Dhaka, Bangladesh, a garment factory burns to the ground, claiming the lives of hundreds of workers, mostly young women. Amid the rubble, a bystander captures a heart-stopping photograph--a teenage girl lying in the dirt, her body broken by a multi-story fall, and over her mouth a mask of fabric bearing the label of one of America's largest retailers, Presto Omnishops Corporation.
Eight thousand miles away, at Presto's headquarters in Virginia, Cameron Alexander, the company's long-time general counsel, watches the media coverage of the fire in horror, wondering if the damage can be contained. When the photo goes viral, fanning the flames of a decades old controversy about sweatshops, labor rights, and the ethics of globalization, he launches an investigation into the disaster that will reach farther than he could ever imagine--and threaten everything he has left in the world.
A year later, in Washington, D.C., Joshua Griswold, a disgraced former journalist from The Washington Post, receives an anonymous summons from a corporate whistleblower who offers him confidential information about Presto and the fire. For Griswold, the challenge of exposing Presto's culpability is irresistible, as is the chance, however slight, at redemption. Deploying his old journalistic skills, he builds a historic case against Presto, setting the stage for a war in the courtroom and in the media that Griswold is determined to win--both to salvage his reputation and to provoke a revolution of conscience in Presto's boardroom that could transform the fashion industry across the globe.
About this Author
Reviews
"Through his broad, intelligent research and insightful writing, Addison prods the conscience, trumpeting justice while acknowledging that the cost of a globalized society is incalculably higher than the price of a T-shirt." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Addison crafts a stunning legal thriller that will immerse readers in its South Asian setting and fascinating characters. Its focus on workers' rights and social justice is also bound to have crossover appeal." -- Library Journal
"Poignant and engrossing. . . . Corban Addison will hold you spellbound with his elegant prose from his first word to his last." -- Wilbur Smith, author of Predator and Desert God
"A must-read book that uncovers what lies behind what we wear every single day. You will never be able to look at your clothes the same way again." -- Livia Firth, OXFAM Global Ambassador
"The conclusions [the characters] reach about the importance of forgiveness and the need for cross-cultural understanding could not be more timely. A fast-paced thriller that puts its humanitarian moral at the forefront." -- Kirkus Reviews
"An exquisitely worded, thoughtful novel about the meaning of family, commitment, and love.... Definitely a book to be savored." -- RT Book Reviews (4.5 stars)
"[A] timely and harrowing thriller." -- Publishers Weekly
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