The Elm Tree (Volume 2)

<p>Much of northern China is now under Japanese control. In Beiping, food prices are soaring, the people are going hungry and the streets are teeming with refugees. Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang army are holding out in central and southwestern China, unable to land a serious blow on the enemy and squandering precious time fighting the Communists.</p> <p>Qi Yuexuan, the sole scion of a distinguished family, has forsworn his life of indolence to lead a small band of villagers in resisting the invading forces. Back in Beiping, his son-in-law Chenglong is prospering, having thrown in his lot with Japanese military intelligence.</p> <p>The saga enters its second half, and the Republic of China’s crisis intensifies. The old way of life is all but gone. Now every surviving branch of the once-great Qi family must face the questions that remain: what will the future hold, how can we shape it and will we live to see it?</p>