Tea with the Black Dragon
R. A. MacAvoy
 Tea with the Black Dragon is about Martha MacNamara, called west to San Francisco by a message from her daughter, Elizabeth, a computer programmer. When she arrives, however, Elizabeth has disappeared. Mayland Long, an Asian gentleman, who is skilled in languages, including those used for computer programming (he settles down to read Donald Knuth's The Art of Computer Programming with a “contented sigh”) and who may be a transformed 2,000 year old Chinese dragon, aids Martha in her search for her daughter. As they search for clues to Elizabeth's disappearance, they discover hints that Elizabeth is involved in a dangerous crime.