The thirty-third year of the Republic of China, Yong'an Town.
Shen Yun never imagined she'd come to this bustling trading port in such a way: to identify a body. Her older sister, Shen Zhi, the only family she had, had drowned herself in the river, leaving behind only an old pocket watch and a line of writing: “If an old acquaintance comes, take this and go to the Huo residence.”
The Huo residence belonged to Huo Xiao, the warlord of Yong'an Town. At twenty-seven, he held absolute power locally, and people trembled at the mention of his name. Shen Yun entered with the token, but all she got in return was a cool glance.
Huo Xiao didn't like talking, socializing, or having an unknown woman around. Shen Yun's gratitude soon wore off. Knowing when to back away, she kept her distance and stopped appearing before him, becoming as quiet as a forgotten shadow in the Huo residence.
But Huo Xiao began to care about her anyway.
She moved into the cold warlord's residence to honor her sister's last wish. After witnessing the suffering of ordinary people, she turned toward revolution, never realizing that the man who barely gave her the time of day had been watching her every move all along.
Su Manqing saw it all, and seethed with resentment.
The niece of a pro-Japanese merchant and an intelligence agent serving the Japanese army, she had already claimed Huo Xiao as her own. She plotted at every turn and was dazzlingly beautiful, but there was one thing she failed to account for: Huo Xiao never spared her a second glance.
And Shen Yun's attention had long since turned away from romance.
The refugees on the docks, the beggars outside the restaurants, the poor people kneeling in the hospital and begging for medicine… Beneath every inch of this fabulously wealthy city lay mountains of bones. Shen Yun went from shock to heartache, from confusion to anger, and began to understand what her sister had given her life to protect.
