On the eve of the Shaoxing peace treaty, undercurrents swirl through Lin’an.
Shen Yanzhi of the Imperial City Bureau is ordered to investigate Jin spies operating in secret, but discovers that peace faction officials, palace eunuchs, and even the chancellor are all colluding with northern agents.
Su Wanqing of the Loyal and Righteous Society operates behind enemy lines, joining forces with him in the shadows to break through one deadly trap after another.
The Jin spies lay a series of conspiracies to frame Yue Fei and extinguish all hope of a northern campaign.
Twelve golden orders summon the army home, and the injustice at Fengbo Pavilion is sealed.
The two risk everything to uncover conclusive evidence of the Jin and Qin’s collusion and expose the vast conspiracy of the spies embedded in the court.
But the realm cannot be restored, and the division of the land is now inevitable.
Kindred spirits in a troubled age gaze at one another across the river. They hold fast for a lifetime, with only fragments of the realm left, but their loyalty and righteousness endure.
