Against the background of San Francisco at the time of the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906 comes a tale of love and loss. Ruth Greer is the spoiled daughter of a shipping magnate who finds a young boy that has run away from his home in Chinatown-an area of gambling parlors, opium dens, sing-song girls, as well as families trying to eke out a living. It is also home of a number of highbinder tongs, the infamous "hatchet men" of Chinese lore. There, she meets the handsome, enigmatic leader of one such tong, the young boy's father, and discovers he is neither as frightening, cruel, or wanton as reputation would have her believe. As Ruth's fascination with the area grows, she finds herself pulled deeper into the intrigue of the lawless area, and Li Han-lin's life. But the two are from completely different worlds, and when both worlds are shattered by the quake and fire that destroys San Francisco, they face their ultimate test.