In 1980s Burma, the British ambassador's son goes missing. Taken north from the capital Rangoon, Michael soon finds himself used as a pawn in a rebel war against the government. His best hope of salvation is to trust Zeya, a ruby smuggler from a town near the rebel camp who offers to help him escape. Beautiful and deeply scarred, Zeya has spent her entire life in a frontier town between rebel and government forces, never choosing a side but trying to make a living from both. For Zeya, the ambassador's son is her ticket out of poverty. For Than, an ambitious military officer, rescuing Michael and returning him to Rangoon offers an opportunity for promotion and distinction. But as all three learn to their cost, in this exotic, enigmatic and savage country, everyone has a price. This is a tale of ambition, salvation and hope that confirms Lucy Cruickshanks as a master storyteller.