Late autumn of 1941, Shanghai.
The fog of the Huangpu River spreads in the night, like a sigh exhaled by the city's heavy breathing. The lights on the Bund turned into a blurry patch of light in the fog, illuminating several freighters moving slowly on the river. The bell of the Customs House in the distance struck ten times. The sound of the bell seemed dull and distant in the humid air.
The lights on the top floor of a three-story Western-style apartment on Foch Road in the French Concession are dim.
