Lucy's Story

Lucy Summers lives in small town America. Her early prospects of a career away from Blowing Rock, North Carolina, ended when her adoptive mother fell seriously ill. Married to a troubled former Marine, Lucy’s life is further complicated by her father’s depression and lack of will to live following his wife’s death. After regretfully placing her father in a nursing home, she makes a startling discovery in his office that leads her to question the father she knows; it also sheds light on the real reason for his illness. As she searches for answers her marriage begins to unravel, and a former lover in China becomes central to her quest for the truth about her father. Two families in China soon take center stage, and secrets are revealed involving a murder during the days when China opened to the West. Lucy’s struggle to confront her father about his past is her only hope of saving him; however, as the painful truth begins to emerge she is faced with a tragic loss. Ultimately, Lucy discovers that her father is more sinister than she ever imagined, and that her own identity is far from what she was led to believe.

Stuart Cotterill continues to draw from his experience living in China, and from his love for its culture and people. He visits Beijing annually, gathering material for his stories. Cotterill's travels and corporate work took him around the globe before he finally settled in Asheville, situated in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. Following two recent mysteries, The Legacy of Ma Jun and Ma Jun's Lost Treasure, this latest book takes readers outside the themes of the earlier "Dragon Script" series. The story, set in the U.S. and China, unravels the secrets of a father's past life, a daughter's secret love affair, a troubled marriage, and a death with mysterious undertones.