Hard Melody (Hardcover)

Three thirty-year-old friends reunite in Beijing after nearly 10 years apart. They used to be free-wheeling rock-and-rollers without a care in the world, but now, after tasting their own variation of freedom in new China, they are tormented by how unforgiving and unglamorous life had become. Nothing at all like the fame and fortune they dreamed about as kids. After comparing stories of disappointment over beers, they are reminded of how much youth they've lost when a group of kids torments them into a brawl. Re-energized by the encounter, they decide to reform the band and this time take over the world. But reality gets in the way when one of them finds out his family is going to be evicted along with their whole neighborhood due to shady government zoning. Putting their dreams aside to fight for their rightful property, they find themselves in a violent uprising pitting neighborhood residents against police and bulldozers... And when the heat gets turned up high enough, fuses are bound to be lit... A story of youthful dreams clashing with the reality of adulthood, set against the backdrop of modern China.