Qing is a young naval officer in the service of Chinese Imperial Admiral Zheng He on his voyages of exploration in the fifteenth century of the Western calendar. Their travels take them to the coast of what we now call Mexico, where they chance upon a village on the outskirts of Tarascan territory, one of the largest Mesoamerican empires. A terrible crime occurs. Qing, who has already shown an aptitude for solving mysteries, is ordered...