River Waves

A secret has lain buried in the waves at Linjiang Wharf for thirty years. Detective Chen Mo clutches the red cord knot his grandfather left behind. The sinking of the Shunjiang remains an unhealed wound: gunrunning, the shadow of opium, and thirty missing workers weigh on him until he can barely breathe.

The red cord loosens, then tightens again. A jade ring reveals a code shaped like a ship’s anchor, and the trail leads from a hidden compartment in the provincial police headquarters to an auction house in London, exposing a criminal network that spans countries. His grandfather’s logbook, the words carved into his father’s cellar, and Captain Zhou’s blood-written final letter weave a net that ensnares not only villains like Huang Zhiqiang and Zhao Lidong, but also debts that have entangled generations.

The waves pound against the suspension bridge, while the red cord binds both crime and redemption. Chen Mo knows the truth hidden beneath the waves must be hauled ashore, inch by inch, with this very cord.