"Set in tumultuous post-WWII Asia, Liu's third novel is an espionage thriller that traces a woman's efforts to find her husband after he disappears into the back country of Communist China in 1949.....Liu tracks the shifting alliances of Aidan, Joanna and Malcolm with surefooted storytelling and solid characterization, and introduces layers of suspense rooted in provocative political secrets. The ending is a crescendo of bittersweet revelations, in which Liu's ability to probe issue of East versus West rises to a new level."