Dimensions
131 x 197 x 25mm
When Marco Polo visited Burma in 1298, he was dazzled by gold and silver temples at the heart of a thriving Asian empire. Seven centuries later, the gold is gone, the temples are in ruins, and the Burmese government manages to keep its economy afloat only through large-scale heroin trafficking.
Claudia is a bored young English woman living on the fringes of society. With no money, no job and no ticket home, her decision to allow a complete stranger to pick her up in a Paris bar is not quite as foolish as it seems. But though Paul may be interested in her looks, it is only because Claudia's exotic part-Chinese bloodlines remind him so much of his dead sister Caroline.
For Paul is a man with a mission. He needs Claudia to travel with him to Burma as part of his cover, and offers her money in exchange for her companionship.
Travelling together, Paul and Claudia encounter a country where monks rub shoulders with opium traders, warlords debate philosophy, and enchantment goes hand-in-hand with repression. But with so many lies between them, Claudia can't help but wonder if Paul is exactly what he seems. Or whether his quest to discover the truth about his sister's death is simply a cover for more sinister activities...