SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD I was just a boy when I come to Jamaica. Kingston, 1938. Fourteen-year-old Yang Pao steps off the ship from China with his mother & brother, after his father has died fighting for the revolution. They are to live with Zhang, the `godfather` of Chinatown, who mesmerises Pao with stories of glorious Chinese socialism on one h&, & the reality of his protection business on the other. When Pao takes over the family`s affairs he becomes a powerful man. He sets his sights on marrying well, but when Gloria Campbell, a black prostitute, comes to him for help he is drawn to her beauty & strength. They begin a relationship that continues even after Pao marries Fay Wong, the `acceptable` but headstrong daughter of a wealthy Chinese merchant. As the political violence escalates in the 1960s the lines between Pao`s socialist ideals & private ambitions become blurred. Jamaica is transforming, the tides of change are rising, & the one-time boss of Chinatown finds himself cast adrift. Richly imagined & utterly captivating, Pao is a dazzling tale of race, class & colour, love & ambition, & a country at a historical crossroads.