Now, in her long-awaited new novel, Lee explores with devastating poignancy the emotions, identities, and relationships of three very different American women living in the same small expat community in Hong Kong. Mercy, a young Korean American and recent Columbia graduate, is adrift, undone by a terrible incident in her recent past. Hilary, a wealthy housewife, is haunted by her struggle to have a child, something she believes could save her foundering...

Once again, Howatch weaves together the ecclesiastical and the earthly in an electrifying story about a woman who begins to doubt the certainties of her life. A young lawyer in her 30s, Carter Graham seeks help at St. Benet's Healing Centre and sets out on a psychological and spiritual journey that will bring her to a startling understanding of her life