American Bryan Paton, new hire at Hong Kong's top law firm, travels to Beijing to recover the body of his client's daughter, Fiona. Unknown to Bryan, also searching for Fiona is General Zhu Fangguo, a central figure in the plot to restore Deng Xiaoping to power.Bryan learns that Fiona is alive and a pawn in the tug of war between radical and moderate factions. His connection to her and, through her, to Zhu involves him in a deadly game of survival and ultimately exposes a web of family secrets closely guarded for nearly 30 years.