On Java Road

A veteran journalist in Hong Kong investigates the disappearance of a student protester in this novel from the celebrated author of The Forgiven—now a major motion picture starring Jessica Chastain and Ralph Fiennes.

After two decades as a journalist in Hong Kong, ex-pat Englishman Adrian Gyle is ready to turn his back on the city he knew so well. But as Hong Kong erupts in violence with pro-democracy demonstrations hitting ever closer to home, could this be the final assignment Gyle was looking for?

Watching from the skyrises is his old friend Jimmy Tang, the scion of one of Hong Kong’s wealthiest families. Through him Gyle uncovers an intriguing lead: the mysterious Rebecca, a student involved in the protests, and the latest of Jimmy’s reckless dalliances. But when Rebecca goes missing and Jimmy hides, it rekindles in Gyle an old urge to investigate.

Piecing together Rebecca’s final days and hours, Gyle must tread carefully through a volatile world of friendship and betrayal. Vividly capturing a city on the brink, On Java Road tells the gripping story of a man between the fault lines of old worlds and new orders in pursuit of the truth.