What does one do with an unwanted girl-whether an unmarried aunt in a crowded apartment, or a girl child, when a son is required? The day her nephew is born, Wong Ying Fa, a Chinese silk embroiderer, considers her future. Blessed with a lucky face and a loving family, she wants to meet a man who can hold an intelligent conversation. Li Gwai Ha is that man-traveled, sophisticated and handsome. Best of all, he wants her, and not solely because his uncle, their Party Boss, demands an heir. Her dreams die when she bears a girl. Betrayed by her family, and faced with a cruel choice, she and Gwai...

Megan Rosswell wants nothing to do with marriage and family. Raised a strict Baptist and now a customer support analyst for a thriving minicomputer manufacturer, she craves the fast life: gourmet dinners, trips to far-off places, designer clothes and an educated man with which to share it. She surrenders her innocence to Donald Alexander, a smooth-talking pilot, who showers her with all the thrills that money can buy; yet can t forget Stan Zambinskyi, the handyman she d longed for since childhood.
The partying takes its toll, leaving her empty and exhausted. Then Donald is caught drunk on...