a poignant and suspenseful drama that untangles the complicated ties binding three womentwo sisters and their motherin one chinese immigrant family and explores what happens when the eldest daughter disappears and a series of family secrets emerge from the new york times bestselling author of girl in translationit begins with a mystery sylvie the beautiful brilliant successful older daughter of the lee family flies to the netherlands for one final visit with her dying grandmotherand then vanishesamy the sheltered baby of the lee family is too young to remember a time when her parents were newly immigrated and too poor to keep sylvie seven years older sylvie was raised by a distant relative in a faraway foreign place and didnt rejoin her family in america until age nine timid and shy amy has always looked up to her sister the fierce and fearless protector who showered her with unconditional lovebut what happened to sylvie amy and her parents are distraught and desperate for answers sylvie has always looked out for them now its amys turn to help terrified yet determined amy retraces her sisters movements flying to the last place sylvie was seen but instead of simple answers she discovers something much more valuable the truth sylvie the golden girl kept painful secrets secrets that will reveal more about amys complicated familyand herselfthan she ever could have imagineda deeply moving story of family secrets identity and longing searching for sylvie lee is both a gripping pageturner and a sensitive portrait of an immigrant family it is a profound exploration of the many ways culture and language can divide us and the impossibility of ever truly knowing someoneespecially those we love