In 1986, Charles Nicholl travels through Thailand to learn about the spiritual traditions of forest Buddhism in the north of the country. But interesting things have a habit of getting in the way.

When Nicholl meets Harry, an old French Indochina hand, on the night train north with his tales of Kachin jade and Shan opium it leads to a journey along the banks of the Mekong, into the Golden Triangle and then across the border into Burma, in the company of the book s Thai heroine, Kitai.

Often alarming but also sensual, it is beautifully told and a reminder that adventures still exist - among shaman spirit-summoners, in rebel hideouts or in opium dens - for those prepared to cross borders, real, imaginary or imposed.