Lee Child recruits Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan Ames, Cara Black, and others to reveal nicotine’s scintillating alter egos.

In recent years, nicotine has become as verboten as many hard drugs. The literary styles in this volume are as varied as the moral quandaries herein, and the authors have successfully unleashed their incandescent imaginations on the subject matter, fashioning an immensely addictive collection.

Featuring brand-new stories by: Lee Child, Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan Ames, Eric Bogosian, Achy Obejas, Michael Imperioli, Hannah Tinti, Ariel Gore, Bernice L. McFadden, Cara Black, Christopher Sorrentino, David L. Ulin, Jerry Stahl, Lauren Sanders, Peter Kimani, and Robert Arellano.

‘Sixteen tributes to America’s guiltiest pleasure…Even confirmed anti-smokers will find something to savour.’ - Kirkus Reviews

‘The most successful entries delve bone-deep into addiction, as characters smoke to smother physical pain, loneliness, and their days…These writers capture the mental gymnastics behind the characters’ bad decisions, and the joy such bad decisions can bring.‘ - Publishers Weekly