A Murder on the Orient Express – style adventure， set in China’s republican era
 
In May 1923， when Shanghai publisher and reporter John Benjamin Powell bought a first-class ticket for the Peking Express， he pictured an idyllic overnight journey on a brand-new train of unprecedented luxury—exactly what the advertisements promised。 Seeing his fellow passengers， including mysterious Italian lawyer Giuseppe Musso， a confidante of Mussolini and lawyer for the opium trade， and American heiress Lucy Aldrich， sister-in-law of John D。 Rockefeller Jr。， he knew it would be an unforgettable trip。
 
Charismatic bandit leader and populist rabble rouser Sun Mei-yao had also taken notice of the new train from Shanghai to Peking。 On the night of Powell’s trip of a lifetime， Sun launched his plan to make a brazen political statement: he and a thousand fellow bandits descended on the train， capturing dozens of hostages。
 
Aided by local proxy authorities， the humiliated Peking government soon furiously gave chase。 At the bandits’ mountain stronghold， a five-week siege began。
 
Brilliantly written， with new and original research， The Peking Express tells the incredible true story of a clash that shocked the world—becoming so celebrated it inspired several Hollywood movies—and set the course for China’s two-decade civil war。