Tom Valle once worked for one of the world's most prestigious newspapers. But after a spectacular fall from grace ('a little ethics problem'), he's resurfaced in a Californian desert town, plugging away on the local paper. It's good to have a job again, even if the stories are so much smaller than before.

However, when Valle is called to the scene of a car crash, events take a dramatic turn. One man died in the crash; his driver's licence shows him as a white Irishman - yet his bones are those of a black man. And the collision was forceful enough for his car to burst into flames - yet there are no skidmarks on the road.

Once there were two villages.

One village where they always told the truth.

Another village where they always lied.

One day a traveler came to a fork in the road. He knew one road led to the village where they always told the truth. In this village he would find food and shelter:. The other road led to the village where everyone lied. In that vib lage he knew he'd be beaten, robbed, even killed. A man stood at the fork in this road, but the traveler didn't know which village this man came from. The one where they always told the truth, or the one where they always lied?

"You can ask me one question," the man said. "Just one."

The traveler thought and pondered and finally he knew which question to ask.

He pointed to the left road and said: "Is this the road to your village?"

"Yes," the man answered him.

The traveler nodded, said thank you, and started down the road.

He knew if he was addressing a man from the village where they always told the truth, then it was of course the road to the right village. And if he were addressing someone from the village of liars, then the man would have to lie and say yes as well.

Whether the man was the liar or the truth-teller，he would give exactly the same answer.