'A freshly written, punchily flavoured and richly realised tale of intergenerational family strife' -- Sunday Times

'Captivating... full of sensual imagery... colourful and unforced... a debut novel whose lessons can be savoured' -- Irish Times

'Prose as peppery as the Szechuan lamb chops and situations as sticky as the carpets' -- Vogue

'A warm, moving, multi-generational family saga, but with a blackly comic streak that will make you snort your tea' -- Sam Baker, The Pool Bedtime Bookclub

The popular Beijing Duck House in Rockville, Maryland has been serving devoted regulars for decades, but behind the staff's professional smiles simmer tensions, heartaches and grudges from decades of bustling restaurant life.

Owner Jimmy Han has ambitions for a new high-end fusion place, hoping to eclipse his late father's homely establishment. Jimmy's older brother, Johnny, is more concerned with restoring the dignity of the family name than his faltering relationship with his own teenaged daughter, Annie. Nan and Ah-Jack, longtime Duck House employees, yearn to turn their thirty-year friendship into something more, while Nan's son, Pat, struggles to stay out of trouble.

When disaster strikes and Pat and Annie find themselves in a dangerous game that means tragedy for the Duck House, their families must finally confront the conflicts and loyalties simmering beneath the red and gold lanterns.