Summary

The novel marks the arrival of the Wang family in Helios, New York by adding the milage 3,561 to the usual chapter heading. Although we begin with Saina, the reader knows immediately that this is the chapter of their arrival.

Once the introductions are made, Saina realized that Billy's article had arrived. The article she had worried about turned out to be a fluff piece that did not get to the heart of her at all, a narrative written by a paparazzo, just as she'd accused him of being. But with her family there, the article barely touched her.

That night, Barbara dreamed of being in China, her feet bound in tiny satin slippers, and awoke to Charles on the phone with his lawyer. He confessed to Barbara that he remembered her from Taiwan all along, but that he must go to China to...