Review
From the book jacket: Naive Vincent Saunders has graduated from college, left his small hometown in
Illinois, and arrived in Taiwan as a Christian volunteer. After opening a
ministry house, he meets a wealthy Taiwanese businessman, Mr. Gwa, who tells
Vincent that on his far travels to western China he has discovered a beautiful
young woman living near the famous landmark Heaven Lake. In
exchange for a sum of money, will Vincent travel to China on Gwa's behalf, take
part in a counterfeit marriage, and bring her back to Taiwan for Gwa to marry
legitimately?
Vincent initially says no but before long an ill-advised relationship with a
local girl forces him to abandon the ministry house and sends him on a path toward spiritual
reckoning - it also causes him to reconsider Gwa's extraordinary proposition.
As Vincent travels further into China...
Beyond the Book
John Dalton was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri,
the youngest of seven children. Upon graduation from college, he
received a plane ticket to travel around the world, and so began an
enduring interest in travel and foreign culture. During the late 1980s
he lived in Taiwan for several years and traveled in Mainland China and
other Asian countries.
A few months after arriving in Taiwan he was propositioned by a
man willing to pay him $10,000 if he traveled to the mainland, married a
woman and brought her back with him. He didn't take him up on the offer!
News: Last week, Dalton was awarded the 1st prize for fiction in Barnes and Nobel's 12th...
