Quinn lives alone, scarred by personal tragedy and recollections of a wartime massacre near a remote monastery in China, the Retreat of Radiance. After thirty years he plots a suicidal revenge against the perpetrator of the massacre, Keh, a former Chinese Civil War general who has made secret millions from heroin.
Reviews:
"Graham Greene and Lawrence Durrell fans take note: the American debut of Australian Moffitt's novel, a bestseller in his own country, is a treat...The characterization is always vivid as are the Chinese settings. With some wonderful images, black humour and an odd sweetness, the book is terrific entertainment."
- Publishers Weekly
"For those who prefer their novels realistic, poetic and racy, this search for revenge...should prove enthralling. Altogether a riveting - and moving - story."
- The Kirkus Reviews
"Ian Moffitt's novel takes a grim look at what happens when innocence confronts violence it doesn't understand. The final showdown is gripping. And the novel's backdrop - international graft, drug traffic, weapon sales, rotten political regimes, opportunistic "nationalism" - provides a vivid disturbing picture of the way East and West have profited from, manipulated and sullied each other."
- The New York Times Book Review