On the eve of the Second World War, Stephen, a young Chinese man, is sent to his family's summer home in Japan to recover from tuberculosis. Under the care of the housekeeper and master gardener, Matsu, he will rest, swim in the sea, and paint in the brilliant shoreside light. It will be quiet and solitary. As he begins to recover, young Stephen has his own adventure, but it is the unfolding story of Matsu, Sachi, and Kenzo that will seize your imagination...

At the turn of the nineteenth century, Frank Leong, a fabulously wealthy shipping industrialist, moves his family from China to the island of Oahu. But something ancient follows the Leongs to Hawaii, haunting them. The parable of the red string of fate, the cord that binds one intended beloved to her perfect match, also punishes for mistakes in love, passing a destructive knot down the family line. When Frank Leong is murdered, his family is thrown...

In the fourth of Peter May's China thrillers, American pathologist Margaret Campbell finds herself back on home soil, only to be faced by a truck full of dead Chinese and an unavoidable confrontation with her past.

A promising young ballet student cannot afford to continue lessons when her Chinese grandmother emigrates from Hong Kong, creating jealousy and conflict among the entire family.