The story of the Opium War between China, in the waning days of the Qing Dynasty, and the British Empire, in the 1830s, and the subsequent takeover of Hong Kong by Britain; through the eyes of the key figures, fiercely nationalistic Lin Zexu, and opportunistic British naval diplomat Charles Elliot.
When Luo Xin'gang a new manager arrives in an ailing silk-printing plant, he maintains that the remedy for the loss in profits is to go back to producing handmade silk handkerchiefs for export -- but the conservative authorities resist any change at all. In the background lurks the shadows of the black market and other forms of graft.
