Silent Fire

In 1937, Beiping fell. Chen Mo, a brilliant young linguist and lecturer at Yenching University, is recruited as an intelligence agent by his mentor Fang Jue. Though Fang appears to serve the Nationalist government, he is actually an underground Communist Party member. Chen's fluency in Japanese and deep understanding of Chinese society make him the ideal candidate. To infiltrate the Japanese intelligence agency known as the Plum Blossom Agency, he must play a traitor who, after his family is destroyed by war, grows bitter toward the Nationalist government and defects to Japan. Thanks to his exceptional intelligence and deep knowledge of Japanese culture, he earns the favor of Kagesa Sadaaki, head of the Plum Blossom Agency, and becomes his Chinese affairs adviser. But his apparent defection also earns him the contempt of his loved ones and condemnation from society at large, including from Lin Huajun, the progressive student he loves most.

For eight years, Chen Mo, codenamed “Lighthouse,” struggles between two, even three, identities. The crucial intelligence he passes along repeatedly turns the tide of battle, saving countless lives and vital strategic forces. Yet he must also endure the incomprehension of his comrades, the enemy's probing, and the immense torment of knowing his hands will inevitably be stained with the blood of his fellow Chinese. Like a silent flame burning amid the ashes, he sacrifices himself to light the dawn of victory.