Camelia in Winter

Commissioned to explore the mystery of a lost artifact and complete paintings for her gallery, the protagonist's artistic eye helps to expose the drama and suffering of war and occupation. In doing so, she takes parallel journey into the meaning of her own life, leaving a long term relationship and finding new love abroad. She must consequently face questions about herself. The main settings are her point of departure, which is the province of British Columbia in Canada and her temporary residence in South Korea, although developments take her to other places too.
The key protagonist, a teacher of English and art in Vancouver named Pamela Conachie, returns to teach English in Masan, South Korea in the fall of 2009. It is her second trip to Korea. She originally sought career experience and adventure teaching English abroad but she had a bad experience working for a private academy several years earlier. Despite this bad memory, the opportunity to pursue an art project and travel entices her to return to Korea for another year, as does the prospect of revisiting an intriguing friend. She falls in love with a Korean English professor, a friend from her first visit to Korea. It is with his help that she pursues an art project on the theme of peace for which she is commissioned by a BC art gallery to develop in Korea. Outside her teaching job in Masan, she looks into the dramatic story of some objects taken from Korea to Japan during the occupation of Korea in the 1930s. Amid all this activity, her brother comes to her with information about a family secret, motivating her to seek out a long lost relative as her quest for her own identity unfolds.
Her new romance is one fraught with the perils of inter-ethnic relations and expat life. Her travels and research cause reflection in the conflicts and tragedies of modern human history, and the complexity of our heritages and social identities today. The protagonist finds herself in a moral and cultural dilemma. The entire experience of her journey facilitates a reconciliation with her ex-common law husband, opens up possibilities for a new relationship, and strengthens her family ties.