being set up as a scapegoat for the assassination attempt on Alexander Brokaw, which had been organized by Mark Berquist, a congressional aide, and Bob Weir; it would then be announced that Dick was working for the Sandinista government. As Elena has taken his place for the arms deal, she has also taken his place as the catalyst for the assassination attempt. Elena visits the American embassy on this island in order to request a replacement passport, she triggers a government investigation by showing the passport bearing the name Elise Meyers to consulate staff. While there, she overhears a conversation in which a Salvadoran man says, "Dick McMahon will not be a problem". She takes a job as assistant manager at a hotel run by an American named Paul Schuster until one night when his friend Bob Weir visits and asks her to take Paul to the airport the next morning. Paul refuses and Elena, confused, returns to her room until she hears the voice of the Salvadoran from the embassy. As a result of the government investigation triggered by her passport, Treat flies down to investigate the situation and becomes romantically involved with Elena. It is revealed that Bob Weir is actually Max Epperson, Dick's longtime business partner, and that if Elena had gone to the airport, she would have been set up as the frontman for the assassination of Alexander Brokaw. Since she did not go to the airport, the assassination target in the plot is changed to Treat Morrison. Elena moves to a different hotel where Treat visits her, under the agreement that she will wait on the bluffs for him to arrive. On the day before he has arranged to escort her back to the United States, she is waiting on the bluffs when a man shoots Treat, wounding him, and Elena is killed by the island's local police as the suspect assassin. Following her death, it is reported by the Associated Press that she was supplying arms to the Sandinistas. Reception The book received generally favorable reviews. It has been compared to Didion's earlier novel, Democracy, as well as the moral thrillers of Graham Greene. Michiko Kakutani, writing for The New York Times, drew parallels between Jack Lovett, a C.I.A. agent in Democracy and Treat Morrison, as well as between Maria in Play It as It Lays and Elena McMahon. The novel has been criticised