The military is on the offensive.

Refugees are flooding over the border.

Aid agencies are mobilizing.

Kelley Simons is about to head home after a grueling stretch in an East African field hospital. A laboratory technician, and an expert on malaria, she’s a rare commodity in humanitarian aid circles. So when the laboratory supervisor for a refugee camp on the Thai-Burmese border is injured, she is the only replacement available. Kelley has never worked in the complex cultures of Asia, in a refugee camp, or under such intense security. She trusts that her African experience will see her through, that her dedication is strong enough, that her new colleagues will keep her safe, and that her ex-boyfriend will stay out of trouble.

Trusting Bamboo Bridges takes you to a time and place that challenges our assumptions about the human condition. Thailand is renowned as an idyllic country with friendly, welcoming people. But in 1997, politics, personal bias, and the weather are all conspiring against the ethnic Karen minority, and the team of well-intentioned Westerners who are doing their best against overwhelming odds.

Will Kelley's trust be misplaced?