Anyone who has stared into the devitalized eyes of an opium addict will know how grave the legacy of the narcotics trade continues to be in the region known as the Golden Triangle.
Making sense of the Byzantine history of illicit substances in Southeast Asia requires a finely tuned analytical mind and plenty of reserves of investigative stamina, both of which these two authors possess in abundance.
The remnants of the Chinese National Army, withdrawing into Burma after the communist takeover of mainland China, formed the bricks and mortar of what would become the clandestine Cold War militia known as the Kuomintang, or KMT. As with all covert operations, secrecy was eventually compromised, the existence of troops under the authority of Chiang Kai-shek becoming, at least in diplomatic and journalism circles, an open secret. Visibility would increase with their involvement as mercenaries in the service of rightist forces in Laos and as combatants embroiled in Thailand's anti-communist insurgent campaign, activities that would distract them from their avowed aim of reclaiming mainland China.