It starts with a quick glance or thinking. Obsession results from it. A well-known author one day learns that his wife, a war correspondent, has vanished with no sign of her. Even if time brings him greater success and other loves, he continues to be perplexed by her absence and grows more attracted by it. Was she abducted, subjected to extortion, or was she just sick of their union? She is as powerfully attractive as she is unsettling. His quest to find her?as well as the truth about his own life?leads him from France through Spain, Croatia, and ultimately to the desolately stunning scenery of Central Asia. Additionally, it transports him away from his familiar surroundings and onto a route that is completely unknown as he searches for a fresh perspective on the nature of love and