China in 1927, free from its corrupt conquerors for fifteen years, is at the mercy of a new breed of tyrants - military adventurers who have carved up the land into little kingdoms ruled by fear: The Warlords. Into their private wars of conquest and revenge strays a young American, Philip Embree. He sets out on a train from Shanghai on a journey that will change his life. He never thought he would abandon his vocation as a Christian missionary to ride with bandits, nor that he would become a member of the elite Big Sword bodyguard of General Tang Shan-teh. But he isn't the only foreigner to be involved in China's violent struggle for unity. Members of the victorious revolutionary Bolshevik party seek to extend their influence. The British and Americans, the Japanese, gun runners, mercenaries of all nationalities vie for political and personal favour. In this swirling ferment, Embree's life is further complicated by a romantic passion that is both dangerous and impossible. The woman he loves is the Russian mistress of General Tang - the Warlord.