The Queen of Patpong

For American expat travel-writer Poke Rafferty, life is suddenly going pretty well. Poke and Rose have decided it's time to go through with their long-deferred marriage ceremony. Poke's adopted daughter, Miaow, now in sixth grade, has won the role of the fairy sprite Ariel in a school production of 'The Tempest,' and Rafferty is hip-deep in Shakespeare to help her with the part. They're even financially secure; Poke's book, 'Living Wrong,' is doing relatively well, and there's money in the bank. But the sudden reappearance of a nightmare figure from Rose's past as a Patpong dancer puts in mortal peril everything that she and Poke have created together: their relationship, the family they have forged with Miaow, their very lives. It also forces Poke to confront the grim reality of the life Rose led in the bars. Although he's known intellectually what she did, he hasn't faced it emotionally. When he does, he's not certain he can live with it.