Andrew Clare Geer

Against a colorful and violent background, Andrew Geer tells the story of Jeff Jordan, who, in addition to being a flying mercenary, was also a strangely reckless man in search of his own kind of personal security. It is also the story of an extraordinary group of adventurers, men and women of mixed morals and various (but always human) motives—the most important of these being a missionary doctor and a beautiful Eurasian girl, two individuals who understood Jordan a lot better than he did himself.

The story moves through the cities of Peking, Nanking, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Canton and Macao. It does not dwell on politics except insofar as the China of 1949 (the Communists were sweeping south to Canton) provides a dramatic background and a test of human behavior. It is a story of a struggle for survival on one level, and for personal salvation on another. It includes tremendous scenes of panic and bravery during the retreat to the South, as well as the minutiae of the personal drama which grips Jordan and the individuals caught with him in this swift and dangerous stream of history.