The Touch

by Liu Hong

Published 7 November 2005
A Chinese doctor in a southern English town, Lin Ju's solitary life is transformed when Lucy walks into her acupuncture clinic, and opens her heart. Lin Ju is in England to escape a failed marriage and the memory of her unwitting betrayal, as a child, of her beloved grandfather during the Cultural Revolution. She is also haunted by thoughts of her daughter, Tiantian, who has returned to China with her estranged husband. Lucy is a woman who has everything Lin Ju could wish for: a loving husband, a beautiful child, and a supportive extended family. Their friendship becomes a lifeline, but it also unlocks in Lin Ju the memories of the past she has strived so hard to bury.