andlt;pandgt;Iraq War vet Ellie McEnroe has a pretty good life in Beijing, representing the work of controversial dissident Chinese artist Zhang Jianli. Even though Zhangandamp;rsquo;s mysterious disappearance of over a year ago has her in the sights of the Chinese authorities. Even though her Born-Again mother has come for a visit and shows no signs of leaving. But when her mom takes up with andamp;ldquo;that nice Mr. Zhou next door,andamp;rdquo; Ellie decides that itandamp;rsquo;s time to get out of townandamp;mdash;given her motherandamp;rsquo;s past bad choices of men, no good can come of this.An old Army buddy, Dog Turner, gives her the perfect excuse. His unstable brother Jason has disappeared in picturesque Yangshuo, a famous tourist destination, and though Ellie knows itandamp;rsquo;s a long shot, she agrees to try to find him. At worst, she figures sheandamp;rsquo;ll have a few days of fun in some gorgeous scenery.But her plans for a relaxing vacation are immediately complicated when her mother and the new boyfriend tag along. And as soon as she starts asking questions about the missing Jason, Ellie realizes that sheandamp;rsquo;s stumbled into a dangerous conspiracy that may or may not involve a sinister biotech company, eco-terrorists, an art-obsessed Chinese billionaire and lots of catsandamp;mdash;one that will take her on a wild chase through some of Chinaandamp;rsquo;s most beautifulandamp;mdash;and most surrealandamp;mdash;places.andlt;/pandgt;
