James Church's "Inspector O" novels have been hailed as "crackling good" ("The Washington Post") and "tremendously clever" ("Tampa Tribune"), while Church himself has been embraced by critics as "the equal of le Carre" ("Publishers Weekly", starred). Now Church - a former Western intelligence officer who pulls back the curtain on the hidden world of North Korea in a way that no one else can - comes roaring back with an unputdownable new series featuring Inspector O's nephew, Bing, the director of state security in a region in northeast China bordering North Korea. When clues point to a connection between a beautiful woman's disappearance and Bing's sensitive assignment to bring an agent across the North Korean border, O reluctantly helps him navigate an increasingly complex and deadly maze. James Church has crafted a story with beautifully spare prose and layered descriptions of a country and a people he knows by heart.