Dying stars: Central African Republic -- Desired results: Japan -- The strong man: Brazil -- The cartel: South Africa -- The new era: Australia -- Blood diamonds: Angola -- The stone mills: India -- Midnight sun: Canada -- Alchemy: Russia -- The big nothing: United States of America.

"When he proposed to his girlfriend, Tom Zoellner gave what every American man is supposed to give at such a time - a diamond engagement ring. But when the relationship broke apart a few months before the wedding, he was left with a used diamond ring that began to haunt him. Zoellner looked harder at the stone, and the consequent fascination sent him around the world." "Across fourteen nations and six continents, the empty mythology of the diamond drew him into a world in which a piece of carbon is made to breathe with the profound intimacies of our own histories."--BOOK JACKET. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.