Everything Under the Sky

In the glorious new adventure novel "Everything Under the Sky," internationally bestselling author Matilde Asensi turns her genius eye for scholarly thrills to the hunt for the lost treasure of China's First Emperor and to the marvelous cast of characters who will do anything to claim it for themselves.

After receiving word of her husband's death, Spanish painter Elvira De Poulain travels to Shanghai to claim his body and put his affairs in order. Prim and straitlaced, Elvira feels out of place in this exotic city teeming with unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells. She longs to return home to Paris as soon as possible. Her charming but dissolute spouse has left her with massive debts, thanks to his fondness for gambling, prostitutes, and opium, and she has no idea how she will repay the enormous sum.

As it turns out, her ailing husband did own something of extraordinary value, and was mysteriously killed by thugs who wanted it for themselves: a beautifully crafted box that holds clues to the location of the remains of China's First Emperor--and the unimaginable riches buried alongside him.

Joining forces with a colorful Irish journalist, a wily local antiquarian, and a brilliant orphaned servant boy, Elvira is swept up into the journey of a lifetime as these mismatched partners embark on an arduous trek to find the sacred site--with assassins in relentless pursuit.

Despite the ever-present risk, Elvira gradually acclimates to China's language, culture, and geography, while the grueling physical challenges and complex intellectual puzzles required to locate the tomb test her strength, her courage, and her smarts in every possible way.

One of the most successful historical thriller writers of her generation, Matilde Asensi outdoes herself while focusing on a country and culture that, to this day, remain shrouded in mystery.