Plot

An American attorney on business in China is wrongfully arrested and put on trial for murder, with a female defense lawyer from the country the only key to proving his innocence.

American lawyer Jack Moore is in Beijing on what looks to be a successful business trip for his company to enter into a film and television distribution deal with the Chinese government, their main competitor for that distribution deal being HoffCo Telecom out of Germany. Before Jack's boss David McAndrews and the Chinese government sign on the dotted line of the contract, Jack is implicated in a murder, the victim who was discovered in his hotel room. The police were alerted to an incident in his hotel room based on the report of hearing a scream emanating from his room, such a scream which Jack, asleep in the room when the police entered, did not hear. Jack being charged with murder quashes the distribution deal, which instead is awarded to HoffCo. The situation is made all the worse for Jack due to the known connections between the victim and people within high places in China, who may try to manipulate the situation to see Jack sentenced to death for the murder. Jack also has language, cultural and political obstacles to overcome, the Chinese government and thus the court system which seems already to have convicted him to make him, a foreigner, an example. As such, Jack does not trust his court appointed lawyer, a young woman named Shen Yuelin who has always seen her role to carry out Chinese government policy. Things may change when Yuelin begins to believe that Jack is being framed for the murder, the death of an innocent man which she may not be able to tolerate if she has any sway within the Chinese justice system, which she may find she does not. The key to discovering the truth behind the murder, the reason for Jack being framed for it and Jack possibly coming out the other end with his life is an important piece of physical evidence which he knows exists but which seems to be missing.—Huggo

A lawyer goes to China, has a one night stand with a Chinese woman he meets there, and she ends up dead. The law immediately points the finger at him, and he must stand trial in China, facing their corrupt and unfair system. A young Chinese lawyer who is assigned to Gere's case starts believing him, and they both fight for his rights in an unfair system.—ShowBob <showbob@geocities.com>

Jack Moore, a high-profile international lawyer, is in China for business. Moore sleeps with a young woman, and wakes up to find her dead in his bed. Falsely accused of murder, Moore's only chance is his Chinese advocate Yuelin. The rules and laws are different, and Moore must convince Yuelin of his innocence and unravel the chain of events that has entrapped him.—John Hawkinson <jhawk@mit.edu>