Hangman's Point

Hong Kong and southern China in 1857. An exotic world of crinolines and top hats; opium dens and clipper ships; betrayal and sudden death. Rich in detail, Hangman's Point brings to life a shocking murder, a sensational trial, a mass poisoning, a cruel slave trade and the desperate schemes of Chinese trying to the hated "foreign devils." The novel's main character, Andrew Adams, a ne'er-do-well American seaman, gambler and part-time smuggler, manages the Bee Hive tavern in the raucous Chinese section of Hong Kong. To avoid a long prison term, he will enter southern China in search of pirates who have beheaded eleven foreigners. To escape a hanging, he will attempt a daring prison escape and disguise himself as a Chinese. To rescue the woman he loves, he will risk everything.