North Latitude 60 is an epic spanning half a century and the fates of three generations. Woven around a family saga and set against four decades of upheaval in Chinese society, it paints a sweeping spiritual landscape from fishing villages in the South China Sea to the frozen expanses of Northern Europe.
Volume One: Memories of the South (1980–2019)
In 1982, on the coast of the Leizhou Peninsula, the grandfather, Xiang Shuhan, earns the family's first fortune from shrimp ponds under the household responsibility system, holding fast to the old maxim that farming and scholarship sustain a family and pinning his hopes on his grandchildren's education. His son, Xiang Yong, becomes an adventurer in the early years of reform and opening up. From smuggling by sea to running legitimate businesses, he builds his wealth in the gray areas and erects a white-tiled house symbolizing his attempt to “go legit,” only to become ensnared in a Game of Thrones and a quagmire of desire. The grandson, Xiang Bei, lives up to expectations, growing from a Tsinghua prodigy into a rising real estate tycoon in Guangzhou, and climbing the social ladder through a Game of Thrones involving capital and power. But an unexpected political storm in 2019 destroys everything he has built, forcing him to flee in panic.
Volume Two: Nordic Purgatory (2019–2022)
In Stockholm, Sweden, the once-renowned “President Xiang” becomes refugee number SE-2019-03876. He moves into a reception center, cleans office buildings late at night, washes dishes in restaurant kitchens, rushes to buy discounted food at supermarkets, and learns basic Swedish for survival in language classes. Plunging from the top of the pyramid to the bottom of society, he experiences the total collapse of his identity, dignity, and understanding of the world. Through the harsh Nordic winters and the long wait for his refugee application to be processed, he is forced to face the sins and vanity of his past. He meets refugees from all over the world and, in the depths of despair, begins the arduous process of
