International advertising man Tom Hope, a loner living on planes, has made his first trip to Shanghai, the steamy paradise of adventurers and home to an earlier generation of his family. Invited by a former colleague, Tom finds the man has gone AWOL in suspicious circumstances.As he follows the man's trail, he gets involved with mercenaries, spies, a former lover, frightening trips and more dangers than James Bond's had martinis. Not to mention terrorists intent on creating a Top Five Atrocity to grab the world's headlines.All of which provides a wake up call for Tom to get a life, find himself, and stop running.Tom takes a personal journey from brooding self-pity, through grudging commitment to true heroism when he finds his world - and ours - involves the safety of a small boy.The clock ticks. Shanghai's heat rises. Death comes onto the agenda. And rebirth. But for whom?