Autumn Ends, Frost Falls

In 1938, Shen Qiujing did two things that, in retrospect, were not very smart. The first was returning to China to restore the already-declining Shen family. The second was rescuing the wrong person in an alley. The man called himself Yuan Yazhi, and said he was a writer. It was more than ten days later that she discovered the truth: His surname was Fujiwara, and he was a major general in the Japanese army. From then on, her life was quietly steered in a new direction by the city. The lamplight still shimmered and the music and dancing went on, but step by step, she ventured deeper into the night and onto a path called espionage. Intelligence was never just a few weightless words on paper. Someone would smile as they picked it up at a banquet; someone else would risk the night to deliver it. And some never lived to see the message arrive, leaving their lives along the way. Great causes were never just stirring words, either. Amid suspicion, deception, and sacrifice, people knew the road ahead was dark, yet were still willing to stake everything they had, so that one day this city, still holding out through wind and rain, might finally see the light of dawn. The splendor of Shanghai: one step into a deadly web of espionage. This novel is anti-war in theme and seeks to remember history, never forget national humiliation, and cherish peace.