Emotionally charged and erotic, this widely translated novel from the bestselling author of THE LAST CHINESE CHEF and A CUP OF LIGHT has been universally praised for its authoritative portrayal of a China rarely captured in contemporary fiction. At dawn in Beijing, Alice Mannegan pedals a bicycle through the deserted streets. An American by birth, she spends her nights in Beijing's smoke-filled bars, and the Chinese men she so desires never misunderstand her intentions. It is a world in which, each night as she slips from her hotel, she hopes to lose herself forever. then Alice takes a phone call from an American archaeologist seeking a translator. And begins an intoxicating journey of the heart – one that draws her into a perilous search for archaeological treasure, plunges her into the vast, uncharted terrain of northwest China, and brings a man named Lin Shiyang into her life. As their expedition twists perilously through the violent history of China, as Alice and Lin slowly seek shelter in each other, an extraordinary series of events begins to unfold in this haunting, utterly unforgettable novel. LOST IN TRANSLATION is a rich exploration of love in all its forms – human, sexual, divine, between a nation and its history, a man and his past, a father and his daughter.