Against the exciting background of China during the passing of the C'hing dynasty, the battles of the communists under Mao Tse Tung, with the Nationalists under Chiang Kai Shek , and the rapacious Japanese invasion, an unbelievable romance blossoms between a beleagured Chinese princess Wansan, who guards the Great Seal of power, and a daring Englishman, Pearson. They must contend against the ancient avenging society of the The Three Daggers, the overweening ambitions of the scheming Chinese minister, Su Liang, and the overbearing Japanese warlord, Karasata. Interwoven is the Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi, the puppet emperor Pu Yi, Shanghai during the foreign concessions, Stokolsky, spying for Russia in the communist stronghold of Yenan, Sing Ti, angry hero of the Long March, Lan Pin, wife of Mao, embittered actress, Lars Nielsen, American historian turned wool trader, the silk trade, and the final battle of the Yangste River.