The Chinese Lake Murders
 In the year 666, Judge Dee, the newly appointed magistrate of the fictional town of Han-yuan, must solve three murders. Han-yuan is an isolated town famous for its floating brothels or "flower boats". The murders seem to be related but just how they are connected is a mystery. The whole investigation turns into a maze of political intrigue, sordid greed, and dark passions. Han-yuan was also the setting for another story The Morning of the Monkey, a short novel in The Monkey and the Tiger.