A botched assignment leaves Parisian P.I. Aimee Leduc in possession of a cache of priceless Vietnamese jade. The jade’s history is steeped in colonial bloodshed-and someone is willing to spill even more blood to get it back

Private investigator Aimee Leduc has been introduced to the Cao Dai temple in Paris by her partner, Rene Friant. He urges her to learn to meditate- she could use a more healthful approach to life. The Vietnamese nun Linh has been helping Aimee to attain her goal, so when she asks Aimee for a favor-to go to the Clichy quartier to exchange an envelope for a package-Rene prompts Aimee to agree. But the intended recipient, Thadee Baret, is shot and dies in Aimee’s arms before the transaction can be completed, leaving Aimee with a wounded arm, a check for 50,000 francs, and a trove of ancient jade artifacts.

Whoever killed Baret wants the jade. The RG-the French secret service-a group of veterans of the war in Indochina and some wealthy ex-colonials and international corporations seeking oil rights are all implicated. And the nun, Linh, has disappeared.