Mingzhi is born to be a mandarin

As the first grandson of the formidable Master Chai, his life is mapped out from the moment of his birth. Yet as Mingzhi grows, he begins to question his privileged heritage: Master Chai - feudal landlord and opium farmer - amy rule the household, beating out orders with his dragon stick, but, increasingly, Mingzhi rails against the confines and corruption of the family mansion. Eager to escape the secrets and shadows that lurk in its corners, to flee from the adultry and treachery, the rivalries and jealousies that mark its boundaries, he soon realises his only path to freedom is through learning.

But this is the late nineteenth century, a time when the West is eager to seize a slice of the East. As the foreign devils encroach on China, Mingzhi is torn between two cultures; in a changing world, he must make a choice between the past and the future.