Now it was a new age-one that thought itself above its ancestors. Once, it was customary to light lanterns and whisper tales of tragedy, to worship what the ancestors revered with moonlight cupped in their palms. The clock had paused on the Mid-Autumn Festival-the twenty-second of the month, according to Western methods of day-keeping this year. There was always a whistle blowing in the background there was always the constant chugging noise of trams dragging themselves along the worn tracks grooved into the streets there was always the stench of resentment stinking up the neighborhoods and burrowing deep into the laundry that waved with the wind, like shop banners outside cramped apartment windows. Workers were always hurrying somewhere, never mind whether they truly had a destination to pursue. Time was both hurried and unhurried at once, the days becoming scarce yet dragging on for far too long. The calendar was rolling closer and closer to the end of the season, the pages of each date ripping free and blowing away quicker than the browning tree leaves. In the heart of Scarlet Gang territory, a burlesque club was the place to be. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns-and grudges-aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.
And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.īut when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang-a network of criminals far above the law. The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.Ī blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Serpent & Dove, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.
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