'Traduttore, traditore. To translate is to betray-or so the saying goes. Crossing the chasm from one language to another, something always drops into the abyss. But betrayal is as much about an existential loss as a gap in information. As its etymology suggests, betrayal is an act of handing over. In that transfer, something is exposed. A secret, say, is handed over for power; trust is obliterated. Betrayal is an exchange that shatters the known world.' (Introduction)