In 1959, French photojournalist Girard Pelletier dies while reporting on the Chinese invasion of Tibet. Neither his body nor his notes on Chinese human rights abuses are recovered; his colleagues believe he was murdered. Seventeen years later his wife, Erzebet, receives an official invitation from the Chinese Government to join an educational exchange in the same region where Girard disappeared. She accepts the invitation. She believes she will solve the mystery of her husband's death. She will find his murderers. While in Tibet, a romance flares between Erzebet and Norbu, a handsome nomad....