Two formidable leads · Espionage · Edge-of-your-seat suspense · Shifting allegiances · Partners in life and death · Male-male leads
Gu Yangshan, a codebreaking genius who has returned from studying abroad, carries the burden of his family's mission. He first joins the Kuomintang, then submits to the Japanese puppet regime, watching the corruption of officialdom with cold eyes. But the suffering of the people eventually shatters his faith.
Shen Fang, outwardly debauched but with a fire burning inside, wears the mask of a “traitor” as he operates between the Japanese and the Kuomintang. In truth, he is the Chinese Communist Party's sharpest blade.
Their loyalties lie on opposing sides. Ordered to kill each other several times, they nevertheless hold back when locked in mortal combat.
From testing one another and harboring suspicions to seeing the steadfastness and lonely courage behind each other's masks, they ultimately form the most dangerous and well-coordinated alliance at a time when the nation is on the brink of ruin.
One cracks codes and sees through secrets; the other strikes from the shadows and cuts through darkness.
Together, they break the deadlock and defeat the Japanese army. But after the war ends, both are plunged into an abyss:
Shen Fang is wrongfully imprisoned, accused of colluding with the Communists;
Gu Yangshan is ostracized by the Kuomintang and survives only under his father's protection.
The darkness has yet to lift, and civil war erupts.
In dire straits, the two cover for each other. Under surveillance, they secretly pass messages, risking their lives to deliver the most crucial intelligence to the side fighting for a brighter future.
By the time the country is restored and the People's Republic is founded, the former enemies who once faced each other on a knife's edge have become the republic's ironclad shield against espionage:
One commands the central office, breaking every enemy cipher;
the other goes to the front lines to root out hidden threats.
From the blood and turmoil of Shanghai to the dawn breaking over Nanjing,
two brilliant, uncompromising men who never betray their beliefs
find a path to the light together through the darkest of times.
