When Sally's friend invited her to go to China with her family, Sally wasn't sure. A week in Shanghai visiting museums and practicing tai chi with experts would be a dream come true. But how could she leave her home on Cape Cod while her husband was still in a coma? Michael had been in a coma for five years. She did go, and found herself in love with the city, the people, and, possibly, a Chinese teacher named Han. When Mary returned to the US, Sally traveled the country on her own. In Datong, she visited a monastery in the clouds with a Siamese cat like her own. She taught English in a high school and in a room behind an ice cream stand in Yangzhou. She rode in rickshaws with French nomads in Xian, and walked on the Great Wall in Beijing. Surrounded by Chinese people and their incredible history, Sally immersed herself in the culture. Her relationship with Han deepened. Why couldn't she tell him she was married? And what was the secret behind his sad eyes? If they decided to be together, could she live in a culture so foreign to her own, thousands of miles from Cape Cod?