A Glorious Youth Amid the Flames of War

Three identities + best friends turned enemies + willing self-sacrifice + high-stakes twists 1944, Guilin. Gao Wenlan has returned from Japan. On the surface, she's a government official's daughter forced to leave school, but in truth, she's the only survivor who has seen the Japanese army's “Sakura Plan.” She must get the intelligence out, but everyone thinks she's simply a young lady fleeing the war. During a bombing, a man claiming to be an interpreter saves her. He says his name is Qian Sen. He is gentle and refined, like a scholar. She doesn't know that he is “Lone Eagle,” the Juntong's top agent. A graduate of a Japanese military academy, he is suspected of being pro-Japanese and watched by everyone. One hundred and thirty love letters that traverse the flames of war, each a channel for them to exchange intelligence. They use words of affection as codes and longing as signals. Then her best friend appears: Lin Yuesheng, her classmate for three years at a Japanese medical college. “Wenlan, it's been a long time.” She smiles, her eyes cold. At last, Gao Wenlan understands: her best friend is “Nightingale,” a Japanese agent. She hasn't returned to save anyone, but to kill. Another friend, Song Chuyun, quietly hands her a letter. “Wenlan, if I die, open this.” 1945, a hospital in Kunming. On the operating table, Gao Wenlan grips a scalpel. Lin Yuesheng lies opposite her. Outside the door, Qian Sen lies gravely wounded, and Chen Ruinian breaks in with his men. In that split second, Gao Wenlan remembers Song Chuyun's letter: “Wenlan, the intelligence is in my stomach. Kill me and take it out.” This time, she is no longer the one being protected.