Summary

In Chapter 15, Ava continues to insist that her family had no prior knowledge of her illegal dealings with Winnie. Shortly after her trip to Dongguan, she flew to Boston to visit her father and brother. Unlike Ava, Gabe had managed to escape the pressures of career and success her family imposed. When she was young, Ava hated that her brother was allowed to slack off in school, but her father insisted that they expected more of Ava because she had more capabilities. In Boston, Ava had mentioned her illegal business to Gabe, but he laughed when she said her work with Winnie was “a whole scheme where [they] return fake [designer bags] to department stores” (223). She knew that if her mother were alive, she would have told her to hand herself in, which Ava eventually did.

In Beijing, in Chapter 16, Winnie is...