Strangers at the gate

In anticipation of Communist China's takeover of Hong Kong in July 1997, tens of thousands of residents are fleeing to San Francisco, Vancouver, and other parts of the world. Focusing on this unprecedented wave of emigration - much of it illegal - former foreign correspondent Leonard Gross has crafted a dramatic, fast-paced thriller about an ugly crime of racial vengeance that exposes an intricate triad underworld taking root on North America's West Coast. Leading the San Francisco investigation is an idiosyncratic descendant of Gold Rush pioneers named Zachary Tobias, a self-described double oxymoron - he's rich, Jewish, and a cop. As Zack delves more and more deeply into the case, his search for the source of the Hong Kong connection grows into an overpowering personal crusade, which causes him to sacrifice his job, his credibility, and the woman he loves in order to learn the truth.