The time is the early 1950s. The place is Central Asia. The backdrop is geopolitics, with the great powers of Britain, China, and others wrestling in the shadows for influence over India, Tibet, and Nepal. Into this cauldron stumbles fictional London art teacher Charles Houston, who is searching for his brother, who disappeared on a film shoot in the Himalaya. Houston is a heavy drinker, enamored with women, unprepared for expedition or adventure, and yet he finds himself at the center of intrigue, lost treasure, and forbidden love. To locals, he is the embodiment of a prophecy and a bad omen; to officials, he is a nuisance and a threat. For readers, he’s the protagonist of a tale still rollicking sixty years after it was written.
The Rose of Tibet