Half the World Away

Newly graduated photography student Lori Maddox spends the year after university travelling and visits China where she finds work as a private English tutor. Back in Manchester, her parents Jo and Tom, who separated when Lori was a toddler, follow her adventures on her blog, 'Lori In The Orient'.

Suddenly communication stops and when the silence persists a frantic Jo and Tom report her missing. It is impossible to find out anything from 5,000 miles away so they travel out to Chengdu, a city in the south-western province of Sichuan, to search for their daughter.

Landing in a totally unfamiliar country, with no knowledge of the customs or language, and receiving scant help from the local authorities, Jo and Tom are forced to turn detective, following in their daughter's footsteps, tracing the people she mentioned in her posts, interviewing her friends, colleagues and students. It's an unbearably difficult challenge and, as the days pass, the fear that Lori is lost for good grows ever larger.

After graduating in photography, Lori Maddox spends a year traveling and takes a job as a private English tutor in China. Her parents, Jo and Tom, who separated when Lori was very young, keep up with her journey through her blog, 'Lori In The Orient'. When her updates suddenly stop, Jo and Tom report her missing. Unable to get information from 5,000 miles away, they travel to Chengdu in Sichuan province to find her. With no knowledge of the language or customs and little help from local authorities, they become amateur detectives, retracing Lori’s steps, meeting her acquaintances, and searching for answers as their worry grows.