In Beijing, Mei Lang loses her prestigious job at the Ministry for Public Safety because she cannot conform to the rules and edicts of her superiors. Her mother is unable to forgive her for failing again and continues to compare her to her successful sister. Mei's tangled relationship with her mother deteriorates as Mei decides to capitalize on her ability to solve problems and opens the first private investigating office in China.
Mei's first client is Uncle Chen, who asks her to locate a valuable Han Dynasty jade stolen during the Cultural Revolution by Red Guards sweeping away the past. As Mei investigates the jade's past, she exposes China's troubling history and its effect on the destruction of her family. Mei learns that with each past political tide in China, her parents adapted -- and she discovers some disturbing truths about her mother.
Diane Wei Liang's insight into the Chinese culture as she combines it with the universal problems of family and personal relationships makes this an exceptional read. She draws readers into the culture, engages our interest and curiosity while she creates a chilling depiction of Chinese life as Mei solves the mystery in a well-executed plot with a surprising conclusion.
Mei is no stranger to the dark side of
China. She was six years old when she last saw her father
behind the wire fence of one of Mao's remote labor camps.
Perhaps as a result, Mei eschews the power plays and
cultural mores -- guanxi -- her sister and mother
live by...for better and for worse.
Mei's family
friend "Uncle" Chen hires her to find a Han dynasty jade
of great value: he believes the piece was looted from the
Luoyang Museum during the Cultural Revolution -- when the
Red Guards swarmed the streets, destroying so many traces
of the past -- and that it's currently for sale on the
black market. The hunt for the eye of jade leads Mei
through banquet halls and back alleys, seedy gambling dens
and cheap noodle bars near the Forbidden City. Given the
jade's provenance and its journey, Mei knows to treat the
investigation as a most delicate matter; she cannot know,
however, that this case will force her to delve not only
into China's brutal history, but also into her family's
dark secrets and into her own tragic separation from the
man she loved in equal parts.
No excerpt available.
© 2003-2026