During the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song, Zhou Mingyuan, the deputy prefect of Hangzhou, changes overnight from "repair the dikes and hold back the tide" to "fate cannot be defied." Han Zhao, an Imperial Guard investigator, is ordered to look into the matter and heads south with Liu Qiniang, a female official of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. They discover that someone is using the prophetic diagrams in the Tui Bei Tu to manipulate the public: the prophecies do not reveal the future, they create it. The Qiantang embankment, the granary, and the Tide God shrine: three prophetic diagrams link together, while a plot to destroy Hangzhou quietly takes shape. Yet deeper than the prophecies are the obsessions and secrets hidden in every heart.
