In 1985, in a coastal fishing village in Shantou, Chen Haisheng, the “living compass,” dies mysteriously at the Mazu Temple. His body lies peacefully, a secret document pinned beneath a ceremonial flag, and the statue's ruyi scepter has vanished. Rumors spread that he revealed secrets of heaven and was punished by the Sea-Crossing Duke. Lin Xiuqin, a rational-minded police detective, joins forces with an old officer hampered by clan politics to investigate. First they are caught up in the murky prophecies, then they uncover the truth of human scheming: the deceased had used his own life to set a trap and expose a smuggling plot, using suicide and the scene he staged to reveal the conspiracy. But as human greed and malice come into plain view, sudden sea fog, strange tidal patterns, and other coincidences that science cannot explain begin to surface. Behind this carefully planned death lies nothing but human calculation, or is it the hidden echo of tides and faith? As the tides rise and fall, every heart is laid bare. At the blurred boundary between divine will and human nature lie the most chilling mystery and the ultimate question.
