The sudden death of Zak's mother leads to a reunion with siblings he has not seen in decades, culminating in a black comedy at the funeral. On having survived a messy and traumatic nonchildhood by being quintessentially headstrong and self-defining, he now finds himself revisiting a painful time and place in his life, retracing the steps to his own convoluted journey, unearthing a past he never knew he had. Some secrets are so compelling they refuse to lie buried in silence, but rise bodily from the grave to invade the present, shattering everything in the process. Unique insights into the human condition, fascinating vignettes from mid-20th-century China, and uncommon sanity amidst maddening events characterize this poignant, thought-provoking and beautifully written tale of a Brit forced to adapt to finding himself "not looking English." (True story; includes 6 pages of pictures and 8 pages of endnotes)