Greed and mismanagement have almost toppled the Ming empire. Raiders from beyond the Great Wall have set the north ablaze. Along the southern coast, Japanese pirates are severing heads. Hu Zongxian, the honourable governor of Zhejiang Province, is leading the charge of China’s heroes as they meet the invaders head-on.

In the capital, it is down to a humble magistrate named Hai Rui to restore justice. Peril unknown and opponents even more deadly than the ruthless Yan clan await him. If he discovers blood on divine hands, he will find himself on a collision course with the chief eunuch, Lu Fang, whose loyalty to the Taoist Emperor is matched only by Hai’s loyalty to the common people.

Criminals walk the halls in silk robes. Hidden eyes are everywhere. Will the path of righteousness prevail, or shall the corrupt go unpunished? The fate of all under heaven hangs in the balance.

Liu Heping is an acclaimed screenwriter, novelist and historian influential for his realist approach to the historical and contemporary transformation of China. His pioneering historical drama, Da Ming Wang Chao 1566, sold nearly a million copies and was later broadcast as a TV series. In 2014, his TV drama All Quiet in Peking gained a cumulative 400 million online views in one month of release. Wen Huang is a Chicago-based writer and translator. His memoir about growing up in Xian in the 1970s, The Little Red Guard, was a Washington Post Best of 2012 pick. He started translating Chinese non-fiction works in 2005, and since then his translations have been published by Pantheon, Harper Collins and Amazon. In 2007, he was the recipient of a PEN Translation Fund Award. His writings have appeared in The Paris Review, Harper’s Magazine, The Asia Literary Review and Words Without Borders.