After 9/11 but before Iraq, Shanghai has surpassed Hong Kong as Asia's most important city. Zhong Fong's Office of Special Investigations is a model of the New China's efficiency. Then Fong follows a disturbing lead which brings him to the rural backwaters of Anhui Province. There he is shocked to find blood trafficking and a massive outbreak of AIDS. Anhui Province is Fong's first step on the longest journey of his life -- a journey that eventually brings him to the streets of Vancouver, Canada -- the Golden Mountain.

As Fong pursues the money behind the blood trafficking, his every step is noted by a pair of ancient eyes -- eyes that belong to a man bent on revenging the death of an old love. The man is the Master of the Guild of Assassins. The old love was Loa Wei Fen who died at the hands of Zhong Fong, in a construction pit in the Pudong, nine long years ago.

David Rotenberg is a professor emeritus of theatre studies at York University, where he taught graduate students for over 25 years. He has released 12 novels which have been published by Penguin, Simon and Schuster, McArthur and Company, St. Martin's Press, and ECW. His novels have been optioned in the past for major motion picture adaptation. City Rising is presently in negotiation with London producers. He I s the founder and artistic director of the world-renowned actor training institute - Pro Actors Lab. His historical fiction novel entitled, City Rising is based on true events and explores the epic stories of the Iraqi-Jews, and the prominent Chinese families of the renowned port city across several centuries. It will be published by At Bay Press in the Fall of 2023.

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