A lord yearning for adventure and a lonely woman longing for a home... The daughter of a Scottish father and a Chinese mother, Troth Montgomery grew up in Macao fluent in the language and culture of both parents, but her father's sudden death condemned her to a shadowy life as an interpreter in Canton. Then Kyle Renbourne, viscount and adventurer, discovers her true identity and persuades her to be his guide for a dangerous journey into the heart...

A masterful novel from one of the most admired writers of our time. Christopher Banks, an English boy born in early-20th-century Shanghai, is orphaned at age nine when both his mother and father disappear under suspicious circumstances. He grows up to become a renowned detective, and more than 20 years later, returns to Shanghai to solve the mystery of the disappearances. Within the layers of the narrative told in Christopher's precise, slightly detached...