The Headmaster's Wager

US: Doubleday Canada, 2012. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting.The spine remains undamaged. From Giller Prize winner, internationally acclaimed, and bestselling author Vincent Lam comes a superbly crafted, highly suspenseful, and deeply affec ting novel set against the turmoil of the Vietnam War. Percival Chen is the headmaster of the most respected English school in Sai gon. He is also a "bon vivant," a compulsive gambler and an incorrigible wo manizer. He is well accustomed to bribing a forever-changing list of govern ment officials in order to maintain the elite status of the Chen Academy. H e is fiercely proud of his Chinese heritage, and quick to spot the business opportunities rife in a divided country. He devotedly ignores all news of the fighting that swirls around him, choosing instead to read the faces of his opponents at high-stakes mahjong tables. But when his only son gets in trouble with the Vietnamese authorities, Percival faces the limits of his c onnections and wealth and is forced to send him away. In the loneliness tha t follows, Percival finds solace in Jacqueline, a beautiful woman of mixed French and Vietnamese heritage, and Laing Jai, a son born to them on the ev e of the Tet offensive. Percival's new-found happiness is precarious, and a s the complexities of war encroach further and further into his world, he m ust confront the tragedy of all he has refused to see. Blessed with intriguingly flawed characters moving through a richly drawn historical and physical landscape, The Headmaster's Wager" "is a riveting story of love, betrayal and sacrifice.