The Last Six Million Seconds: A Thriller

An exciting new thriller, in the tradition of Gorky Park.

In shops throughout Hong Kong, clocks are ticking down the seconds before control passes from the British to the Chinese on June 30, 1997. With The Last Six Million Seconds, John Burdett has written a riveting and timely thriller that takes place on the eve of the changeover.

Royal Hong Kong Chief of Police Chan Siu-kai ("Charlie") is called to the harbor at the South China Sea and discovers three heads floating in the water. Confronted with a case of triple homicide, Chan has to find out why the coast guard and an outside agency are opposed to his investigation. Chan, a determined Eurasian policeman, goes in search of the killer and the truth behind the British government's involvement, while uncovering the shocking behind-the- scenes machinations of the Red Chinese.

Hong Kong, about to be absorbed into the People's Republic of China, is the setting for this fact-and-action-packed thriller, as a tough and moral policeman tries to solve a triple murder before time runs out. Hong Kong Chief Inspector Chan Siukai's investigation brings him up against all the usual suspects--corrupt British diplomats and businessmen, American gangsters, Chinese warlords--and a few unusual ones. John Burdett, who once practiced law in Hong Kong, knows where the bodies are buried--and his fast-moving scenes of violence add quite a few more.