Dr. Lili Quan thinks of herself as an America, despite her
mother's attempts to connect her with China. But Lili feels
she must honor her mother's last request to visit China.
What she doesn't expect is to meet a grandfather she
thought was dead.
Even more life-altering is her grandfather's work, which
Lili believes involves traditional Chinese herbal medicine.
What she doesn't fully understand is that her grandfather
has unlocked some secrets that will extend life -- and
that's a discovery many are willing to do anything to get.
This thought-provoking book is an interesting look at
China -- its culture, its struggles, its beauty. There's
enough suspense and intrigue to keep you reading, but
plenty of self-examination and even a love story. A good
read.
San Francisco, 1989: Forty years after Mao and his
People's Liberation Army set poised to change China
forever, Dr. Lili Quan prepares for a journey that will
change her life forever. To honor her mother's dying wish
that Lili "return home," Lili reluctantly sets out for
China.
For Lili, a passionate idealist, this will be an
extraordinary trip filled with remarkable discoveries -
from meeting and falling in love with Chi-Wen Zhou, a
victim of the Cutural Revolution and zealous Taoist, to
finding Dr. Ni-Fu Cheng, the grandfather Lili believed had
died years ago. But Dr. Cheng has made the most remarkable
discovery of all: he's discovered the secret to long life.
As Dr. Cheng's only relative, Lili's life is in
jeopardy. As greedy and unscrupulous men vie for control
of the most earth-shattering discovery of the century,
Lili Quan could become a pawn in a deadly and dangerous
international game.
Before Lili can hold the key to the
future, she must unlock the deadly secrets of the past.