A botched assignment leaves Parisian P.I. Aim e Leduc in possession of a cache of priceless Vietnamese jade. The jade's history is steeped in colonial bloodshed--and someone is willing to spill even more blood to get it back Private investigator Aim e Leduc has been introduced to the Cao Dai temple in Paris by her partner, Ren Friant. He urges her to learn to meditate: she could use a more healthful approach to life. The Vietnamese nun Linh has been helping Aim e to attain her goal, so when she asks Aim e for a favor--to go to the Clichy
quartier to exchange an envelope for a package--Ren prompts Aim e to agree. But the intended recipient, Thad e Baret, is shot and dies in Aim e's arms before the transaction can be completed, leaving Aim e with a wounded arm, a check for 50,000 francs, and a trove of ancient jade artifacts.
Whoever killed Baret wants the jade. The RG--the French secret service--a group of veterans of the war in Indochina and some wealthy ex-colonials and international corporations seeking oil rights are all implicated. And the nun, Linh, has disappeared.