"The central characters in this book are paintings. This is neither an attempt at a definitive life of Rothko nor a critical study of his art. It is rather the story of what happened to the paintings from their creation to their incredible travels after Rothko's death. In the now famous lawsuit over their disposition, the paintings were to bear silent witness and, ultimately, convict the wrongdoers. This book is also an account of how an artist with a passionate commitment to his creations nevertheless failed to control their fate, and how he and his work fell into the hands of men interested only in the commerce of art. Through this history of Rothko's paintings, it is possible to examine the internecine world of art and how the predators within it operate, uninhibited by public scrutiny or regulation." --Forword.