Paperback, 336 pages
English language
Published Aug. 29, 2006 by Harper Paperbacks.
A young woman with a foothold in two cultures, Rei Shimura has gone wherever fortune and her unruly passions have led her throughout her chaotic twenties. Now, after the streamers for her thirtieth birthday celebration have been taken down, the Japanese-American antiques dealer and part-time sleuth finds herself with an assignment to find and authenticate an ancient Middle Eastern pitcher that disappeared from Iraq's national museum.The piece is believed to be in the hands of a wealthy Japanese collector, whose passion for beauty extends to Rei herself. But when a devastating typhoon hits Tokyo, Rei is trapped with the object of her investigation-and with much much more than the fate of an ancient pitcher at risk.
This may be my favorite of the Rei Shimura series. Rei gets recruited by a highly specialized, secret government organization to do some spying for them, back in Japan. It features excitement, betrayal, putting together unexpected puzzle pieces, and a look at the world of Middle Eastern and Japanese pottery, ancient and modern.
