An immigrant Vietnamese woman attends her estranged mother's funeral, traveling from Paris to Saigon. When an acquaintance of her mother pays a visit, he relays a story from fifty years ago when she was a liaison girl for the Viet Minh and was held as a political prisoner.
A notebook and a photo of a man named Paul Polotsky, dated 1954, are the only clues she has about her mother. This further investigation is more like a journey through Saigon to Paris. Her mother's life resembles a treasure trove, and she is playing detective to make things clearer. She also learns about her mother's extended family and their roles in Vietnam's Revolution. It's like time traveling back to the place where her mother's side of the story originated.
This is my second mellow and meandering read about Vietnam in a row. Although it's slow-paced, it is thought-provoking.