Shanghai ... in the twenties and thirties its name signified glamour, intrigue, and bizarre self-indulgence. Born there into a wealthy English ship-owning dynasty, Clio Oliver has a childhood as cloistered and lavish as that of any princess. When her grandfather's death summons her to England, she's still a child, but has some idea that Daddy has a new friend - one like those he used to know in China. Clio soon finds herself trapped between two cultures. As a married woman, she returns to Shanghai seeking the safe cocoon of her childhood - only to find deceit, betrayal, and the threat of Japanese destruction. But everything changes in time, she learns, and what endures is the memory.