"Spark in the Dark Night" is an epic novel set in the fictional city "Jiangzhou" at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China. Through the struggle and alliance of young people from multiple walks of life, it shows a magnificent picture of salvation from the nation. The story revolves around the crisis of railway sovereignty - when the Qing government and the great powers secretly signed the "Jiangzhou Railway Mortgage Agreement", young people from all walks of life in Jiangzhou City moved from differences to unity when the country was facing a national crisis. Progressive student Chen Wangshu founded the magazine "Dawn" and used his pen as a sword to expose traitorous acts; dock worker Liang Tiesheng organized a strike and resisted foreign oppression with his own flesh and blood; capitalist Su Wenhan who returned from studying abroad struggled between the ideal of "saving the country through industry" and reality; the old-style gentry Zhao Shiheng turned from conservative to awakening, selling off his property to support the struggle; and the return of Nanyang overseas Chinese Lin Qingyin connected the forces of all parties with an international perspective. The novel progressively presents the complexity and inevitability of resistance layer by layer through the pens of intellectuals, the fists of workers, the funds of capitalists, the reputation of the gentry, and the network of overseas Chinese.
In the baptism of blood and fire, they went from initial conflicts of ideas (such as the differences in the behavior of students and workers, and the class gap between capitalists and gentry) to finally forming a community of destiny, revealing the core theme of "the awakened people are the real dawn." The story has climaxes one after another, from bloodshed at the pier and torture in prison to public opinion wars and international games. It includes individual growth and sacrifice, as well as the undercurrents and breakthroughs of the times. It finally ends with an open ending of "a broken track and a silent murderous intention", which means that the fire of struggle will never be extinguished.
