The fifty-fifth year of Yongwu, the waters beyond the Cape of Good Hope.
Zheng He stands at the stern of his treasure ship, gazing west across the sea. The dragon banner whips overhead as the fleet turns, not homeward, but west.
He seals a map he has never shown anyone inside an iron box and orders it sent back to Penglai Island. The map shows a route, and at its end are three words:
The Return-to-the-Void Bureau.
Six hundred years later, a young officer in exile steps off the docks at Portsmouth Harbor. Before he can reach the governor's residence, a bronze token is pressed into his palm.
“Find the Central Court... Find the map to the underground palace...”
On the other end of the bronze token is his close friend, missing for many years. The Old Lands and the New Lands face off across the Pacific, while the European powers watch hungrily from beyond the leased territories.
And the route Zheng He sealed away six hundred years ago is waiting beneath the ice to be traveled once more.
