It turns out that much of the empire Xing built was helped along by new luxury clubs that cater to the baser desires of Shanghai businessmen, and, of course, their new interest in golf. Many deals are made because of favors provided in private rooms, along with hard cash in a red envelope, the traditional bribe for Communist Party officials.
Chen tries to reject cynicism while pursuing the case, but this is a battle he loses a little more with each book in the series (Death of a Red Heroine, A Loyal Character Dancer, When Red is Black, and the terrific fifth novel, Red Mandarin Dress). Nevertheless, Inspector Chen works hard to follow his orders to a final conclusion, even if he may be supposed to create more of a spectacle than a real investigation. Can he achieve more than a hollow victory? Will he be able to keep his promises to himself and his dead Chinese friend while pursuing the big fish?
In the middle of a tense Shanghai investigation, Police Inspector Chen is suddenly sent out of the country to lead a literary delegation to the U.S. While startling, this role is not completely incongruous because Chen is a published poet, noted translator of T. S. Eliot and member of the Chinese Writers' Association as well as a police inspector; he had hoped to pursue an academic career before the government diverted his career to the police force. However, the timing of this assignment is highly suspicious and the reasoning unclear: is it to remove him from the scene in Shanghai or to bring him close to the fugitive Xing? For that matter, what exactly is the purpose of the literary delegation? It starts out innocently enough, but after a week, nearly everyone involved seems to have a hidden agenda and several are keeping an eye on Chen. As leader of the group, Chen is in the uncomfortable position of having to lead daily political study sessions.
With Chen in America, his associate Detective Yu must carry on the investigation in Shanghai. Yu is essentially alone except for his wife and father, a retired policeman known as Old Hunter. These three try to keep Chen's elderly mother safe while tracking down Xing's hidden half-brother, Ming, who may still be in China and, because of the power of Chinese filial piety, could help unravel the case. Ming was the intermediary who obtained insider information from corrupt Director Jiang of the Shanghai City Land Development Office.
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