James Lande

The extraordinary romance of an American adventurer in 19th century China - inspired by true events.

In a China torn apart by rebellion and war, a lone American adventurer - Fletcher Thorson Wood - becomes mired in a maelstrom of battle and intrigue, and swept into a tempest of love and betrayal.

Set upon by Western barbarians without and Taiping rebels within and all but bereft of any means of defense, China calls upon Fletcher to assemble a ragtag army in the defense of empire. But even as he defends Shanghai against the rebel onslaught, Fletcher wages an even greater struggle in his heart - between East and West.

Elizabeth Fitch is the disaffected child of an American taipan, and Yang Ch'ang-mei is the disenchanted daughter of a rich Chinese banker. Each will be shaken by their encounter with Fletcher Thorson Wood, and Fletcher will be made to choose between them.

Yang Shen tells of the encounter, sometimes the clash, of Americans and Chinese, evoking times long past and recalling long-silent voices of people in America, China, England, and the Philippines who lived through cataclysmic times and whose anguished cries echo still.