My Travels with Fa Hien, 5th Century Buddhist Pilgrim

This is the story of Fa Hien, 5th century Buddhist pilgrim, who, in the year 399CE, set out walking from his home in Chang'an (Xi'an), China, toward his final destination near Pataliputra (Patna), India, via Purushapura (Peshawar), now in Pakistan. He made this trip to retrieve and translate original texts to clarity the practice of Buddhism in China, which was then almost a thousand years and five thousand miles from its source. Those are the facts. But this is a novel, and Fa Hien was not alone. There was also Jing Chang, his trusted porter and a well-traveled tribal boy with much knowledge and no shortage of ambition in his own right. He knew a shortcut, also. So, when master and student separate, Jing Chang sets off on his own adventures, he and his Greek partner with a growing opium problem. What could go wrong? But they'll all meet again.