The Last Mandarin

Peking, 1948. In the midst of a brutal winter, the Communists tighten their stranglehold on the ancient capital, preparing to strike. Peasants starve, students riot, police crack down, and an entire city shivers on the edge of revolt. A decade ago, Maj. Jack Burnham was an American civilian living in China when the Japanese invaded. Now, he has returned on a mission to capture a notorious war criminal before Peking falls to the Red Army. Kanamori Shoichi raped, murdered, and pillaged his way through China during World War II-he also broke Burnham's nose. If caught, Kanamori will be brought before a tribunal and made to pay for his crimes, large and small. But finding one man in a devastated city of millions is no simple task. Luckily, Burnham has the help of a beautiful Chinese doctor eager to help her people find justice, as well as his own expert knowledge of the language and culture. But when he finally locates Kanamori, the showdown Burnham has sought for so long will be far stranger and more dangerous than he ever imagined.