This is a full-length historical novel. Set against the backdrop of Emperor Gaozong of Song's triumphant return from a personal campaign, and in the southern reaches of the Grand Canal, it tells a patriotic story of Xin Qiji and Lu You joining forces to foil a Jin assassination plot.
On the battlefield north of the Yangtze, the Jin army suffers one defeat after another at the hands of the Song forces. Jin Grand Commander Li Tong plots a counterattack, so he coerces a prince of the Javanese kingdom to assassinate Zhao Wei, Prince Jian of the Southern Song. The Javanese then devise a plan called "Telasgni": burning Lin'an with ten thousand jin of oil.
Xin Qiji, then a secretary in the Taiping Army, and Lu You, a historian at the Hanlin Academy, learn of a lead and launch an investigation up and down the Grand Canal, beginning in Lin'an. Pursuits, ambushes, counterattacks, alliances, and further ambushes drive a story full of twists and turns. Loyalty between ruler and subject, brotherhood forged in adversity, and the joys and sorrows of love and hate intertwine, revealing the fragility and resilience of life. Starting out full of confidence, then facing obstacle after obstacle and surviving repeated brushes with death, Xin Qiji and Lu You endure every trial and ultimately defeat the Javanese plot together, saving Zhao Wei, the soon-to-be enthroned Prince Jian, who would become Emperor Xiaozong of Song. Together they compose a stirring ode in the style of the Song, devoted to patriotism.
