A realistic depiction of the new difficulties people faced in the new era in China.
Fifth brother is separated from his kin whilst fighting the marauding Lao, and is nursed back to health in a monastery. He is befriended by Grinder, a monk whose job is to mill wheat. Fifth brother assumes the name of Ming Sau, and works on improving his fu. He is alternately helped and distracted by pretty Yue Lan. Meanwhile, the treacherous Lao continue their plans for conquest.
Political intrigue by the Nationalists among the Jingpo people after the liberation of China.
During the War of Resistance Against Japan, a CCP army unit guarding the southwest border follows what is ostensibly a trading caravan and discovers that these traders are actually smuggling arms and spy equipment to Chiang Kai-shek and his American allies.