Silken Thread

In 1967, an 18-year-old Dutch-American living with his family in Manila takes a summer job at the U.S. Embassy as a Chinese-language teaching assistant. The students are recently discharged military personnel cycling into the CIA. He meets Barb Schneider, USAF, formerly a contract auditor at the Pentagon, 28-years-old. What both expect to be a time-constrained dalliance turns into a heartbreaking separation. Two years later, an ally at the agency arranges a 'chance meeting' in Houston, TX. David is now 20, a civil-engineering student, a part-time Bureau of Land Management Ranger, a part-time heavy equipment operator, a part-time CIA Chinese-language publications analyst, a nest-builder -- biding his time for an opportunity to court her again. Barb is a CIA field officer tasked with hanging around airports eavesdropping on Mandarin speakers, persons who would never have reason to suspect she speaks their language. And she hates her job. The couple reunites. Barb takes a job at her uncle’s engineering company in Austin. David is almost stabbed to death while on duty as a BLM Ranger. Their families collaborate to start an engineering practice in Singapore with logistical support from the CIA and other agencies. A Singapore Triad gang tries to muscle in on their business, resulting in an assassination attempt. David and Barb flee to Kuala Lumpur, but decide to stick it out, culminating in a finale in Taiwan, where the seeds of success are sown at a breakfast meeting.