Bodies for Sale

Behind the Scenes: Bodies for Sale is the second of a four bookfact-based suspense novel series which exposes thecriminal exploitation of the people behind the façade ofmany of the tourist paradises in Southeast Asia. The books describe how the poor of Myanmar, Thailand andLaos do their best to survive, often growing opium, smugglingweapons and selling their daughters, sometimes beforethey are even born. The plight of these people is made more complicated becausethis criminality is often sanctioned by official organisationsin existence to protect them, not to take advantageof them. Bodies for Sale continues the series, telling the story of onepoor family from a small village in Laos, during a time of increasingdrama in the aftermath of the Vietnam War: - Grandfather Songchai and his efforts to take his transportof hidden arms for buyers in west Africa, through Thailandin the company of a driver unknown to him. - Lu, his daughter-in-law, whose help for two Americans,Will and Frank in their quest to find the remains of US soldierslost in the War has now led to terrible personal consequencesfor her. - Prim, Lu's daughter and her teenage friends Lek, Moa andanother girl called Bee, who have now all become involvedin the bars of the sex trade with no easy way out. The characters' fates are interwoven in a colourful andharsh narrative that moves towards its resolution as relentlesslyas the mighty Mekong River flows forth and theIndian Ocean cascades east with catastrophic impacts justafter Christmas 2004. The series is inspired by real people and based on real lifestories.