Late at night in a seedy hotel Richard is drawn into a strange conversation with a fellow guest. Through a narrow strip of mosquito netting he hears for the first time of a secret beach and island Garden of Eden hidden somewhere in the scattered islands of a Thai marine park. The next morning Richard finds a map pinned to his door and the man who put it there has slashed his wrists. The challenge is irresistible and Richard sets off on a perilous journey in search of Shangri-La.