Price's Price

Stanley Price has dreamt since childhood of exploring the world, but hasn't the means to do so. After an inglorious attempt at marrying into money, Stanley joins the army with dreams of exotic postings Dispatched instead to Hong Kong, Stanley is swept along by the city's raw and invigorating energy - and its women. The one he falls for is glamorous, charming and wily; at the same time, Stanley becomes disillusioned with the drudgery and futility of his military duties. He leaves the army for expat life. After a scandal involving a life style beyond his means, he becomes part of Hong Kong's thriving manufacturing industry. The toys he makes are strictly for adults: his libido starts to take control and one irresistible proposition after another comes his way. The high-life is his. He takes full advantage but, as middle age looms, his dreams of exploring the world recede - until he meets a young lady who rekindles the dream. Price's Price is a romp through the underbelly of colonial Hong Kong. At times funny, at times outrageous, this elegiac mock memoir would sit well besides Nabakov and MacDonald Fraser.