1922, Zhabei Wharf, Shanghai.
Shen Zhinian wakes in a pool of blood. He clearly remembers dying in 1932, stabbed thirteen times by the Japanese spy Fujita Gang, and watching his sister's face disfigured and his sworn brother hacked to death. But when he opens his eyes, he has returned to ten years earlier.
This time, he is no longer a dockworker at the mercy of others.
He saves his sister, Shen Nianzhen, wins over the local kingpin Tiger and his hotheaded brother A Kun, and takes control of Zhabei Wharf step by step. In their first clash, he disarms his opponent with his bare hands and leaves the Japanese businessman Yamamoto Ichiro humiliated. In their second, he slashes Hu Lian's face, leaving Zhang Xiaolin's men terrified.
But his true enemy is Fujita Gang, the Japanese spy who murdered his entire family in his previous life.
From propaganda campaigns and assassinations to infiltrators and raids, Fujita Gang's methods grow more vicious by the day. Yet Shen Zhinian repeatedly claws his way back from the brink, using Du Yuesheng's influence, intelligence from the underground party, and the blood of his brothers to secure a foothold in the French Concession.
Ping'anli Wharf, Lannidu, Sakura Tavern... Every bloody battle brings him one step closer to Fujita Gang's throat.
But Shanghai's waters run deeper than he imagined. The three moguls, Huang Jinrong, Zhang Xiaolin, and Du Yuesheng, each have their own agenda. The Japanese tighten their grip, while workers strike, students take to the streets, and the concessions descend into turmoil. An even greater storm is brewing.
And Shen Zhinian has already been swept into its very heart.
