AustLit

The year is 1931 in Chiang Kai-Shek's nationalist China Commander Peter McLean is on shore leave when he is suddenly summoned by the admiral and assigned the task of locating six U. S. Navy deserters suspected of opium trafficking. Setting himself up as a businessman in the silk trade, Peter hires the enigmatic Clio as his secretary. Then a strange U.S. heavy cruiser, armed with unfamiliar weaponry, appears in the harbor, identifying itself as the Jackson from the year 1987. A time warp, it would seem, has caused it to slip into prewar Chinese waters. Though the crew of the Jackson know what the future holds, they do not know if they can alter it or even whether their very appearance has had an irrevocable effect. Particularly interested is young Lieutenant Andrew Mclean, who seems to take a personal interest in Peter's life - and in his relationship with Clio. An evocative love story, combining romance with the sinister allure of the seamier side of the orient, Dragonsleep, by author A. G. Paradissis, will fascinate all those who enjoy a good mystery. (Publisher's blurb on back cover).