Lionel Pepperdine is the ferocious antihero of Martin Amis’ latest, who proudly changes his surname legally to ASBO—which stands for “Anti–Social Behavior Order.” When Lionel wins just under a hundred million pounds in the National Lottery, the Lotto Lout is unleashed as a menace to society. Much of the action is seen through the eyes of Lionel's honest, intelligent, and frighteningly vulnerable mixed–race nephew, Desmond Pepperdine. Desmond has a guilty secret—and powerful reasons to fear his uncle's anger, which he knows to be limitless.