Peking 1900, rebellion rages across China, bringing blood and fire to the hated foreign devils. Lea Stafford, a fledgling overseas correspondent, barely survives a massacre at a mission station only to find herself trapped in the British Legation by Boxers.
Among the beleaguered westerners is Michael Attwood, a mysterious adventurer involved in secret negotiations with the scheming dowager empress. Her private scribe is busy detailing the twilight of an empire as walls and temples crumble; and the independent Lea discovers love on the eve of possible annihilation.
